Paw-sitively Fabulous: Camp Canine Puppy Bowl!

As many of you have probably guessed by now, Holly and I aren’t the types to be into professional sports (unless, of course, you count Bark in the Park). But when we were invited to spend the Super Bowl surrounded by a real-life version of Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl, suddenly sports seemed much more exciting!

All geared up for game day the LHBW way! Image courtesy of Camp Canine.

Allow me to explain: every year, while pup parents head off to watch the big game at not-so-pooch- friendly places, Camp Canine NY, an Upper West Side Doggy Daycare, stays open late and throws a TAILgate for pups only. And Holly and I were lucky enough to snag an inside peek!

I arrived at Camp Canine at 5:00pm and was whisked into the main room, fully decked out like a football stadium and complete with pup-friendly pigs in a blanket, pretzels, and football-themed cookies. Team colored bandanas were at the ready, but since Holly and I hail from Colorado and could no sooner support the Seahawks as we could a bunch of cheaters (ok, maybe I do know SOMETHING about football), we were outfitted with an alliance-neutral pink bandana, which, as an added bonus, matched our tutus!

The snack table was the most popular hub of the evening!

Next we stopped by the photo booth, where pooches were brought throughout the evening to pose in their team colors against a festive backdrop. The team at Camp Canine worked a strange voodoo magic on Holly that got her to sit still and pose, and we were rewarded with a cute keepsake photo from the event at the end of the evening!

Holly looking photo booth chic. Image courtesy of Camp Canine.

Then it was time for the real fun to start! The other pups ready to party came out into the main “stadium” room, and charged around with stuffed footballs, helped themselves to some snacks and dog-friendly beer (sometimes without permission!), and got geared up from the game. Holly was nervous at first but eventually joined in on the fun, making friends with several pooches, including Camp Canine staff pups Nacho and Tamale!

 

The pups in a rare standstill. Image courtesy of Camp Canine.

Holly and fellow shy pup Dashwood bonding. Image courtesy of Camp Canine.

Someone got carried away with the Bowser Beer! Image courtesy of Camp Canine.

By kick off, everyone had eaten and played so much they were all ready to pass out (much like a human Super Bowl party). Holly snoozed in my lap and seemed to be a Chihuahua mix magnet—at one point we had five total in our little area! It would be very dangerous for me to work somewhere like Camp Canine—they were all such sweeties I wanted to take them all home (luckily they already have fur-ever homes that love them, though Camp Canine does have a foster program that many of the pups are graduates of).

Holly with Insta-friend and Camp Canine grad, Nacho!

 We had such a pawsome time getting to know the staff and pooches of Camp Canine NY. I was so impressed by the creative set up for the Super Bowl, and the love and attention the staff lavished on the pups in attendance. Its clear those doggies are excited to be there, and who wouldn’t be! At Camp Canine, every day is the Puppy Bowl!

Until Next Time, Darlings!