Felicity, a Doberman Pinscher from the Desert Harbor Doberman Rescue of Arizona in Phoenix, will participate Sunday as part of Team Fluff in the 2025 Puppy Bowl, Animal Planet’s popular alternative to the Super Bowl. Felicity is 6 months old, 45 pounds and full of energy.
“Dobermans are a very athletic, muscular breed. We tried to do everything to make her a receiver and not a linebacker, but she is going to be quite a bit larger than some of the other dogs out there,” says Lisa Cuto, associate director of Desert Harbor Doberman Rescue.
“Gentleness training was definitely in the picture. We tried to socialize her with all sizes of puppies so that she wouldn’t bull anybody over, but don’t count on that. It might happen,” Cuto jokes.
Felicity is one of four dogs who will represent Arizona shelters and rescues in the Puppy Bowl. Delulu and Jake, both Shih Tzu and Maltese mixes, will represent the National Humane Society on Team Ruff. Akimel, a Chow Chow and American Pit Bull Terrier mix representing the NAGI Foundation, will be on Team Fluff alongside Felicity.
Felicity is ready to show off her football skills on Team Fluff in the 2025 Puppy Bowl, airing Sunday, Feb. 9.
Anthony Chiu/Cronkite News
Felicity’s foster mom, Pamela Garcia-Filion, her daughter and Cuto have been hard at work getting the puppy ready for her big day. She has been practicing short obstacle courses in the backyard by running through a tunnel to work on her agility.
Garcia-Filion’s daughter helped Felicity learn to fetch by starting with small objects like a tennis ball and growing to larger objects. When Puppy Bowl Sunday rolls around, Felicity will be ready to attack the football on both sides of the ball.
“Dobermans are a working breed, so they want a job. So once you assign them a task, they learn easily. Dobermans (are) a very smart breed,” Cuto says. “We taught that little girl how to chase a ball from an early age.”
Another aspect of Felicity’s training was familiarizing her with other dogs. Felicity took trips to the farmer’s market each week, along with many walks around the community, to help her acclimate and socialize with other people and dogs.
“She will be with teammates on Team Fluff that she doesn’t know very well. So to get her to be happy, relaxed and to chase the football is going to be our goal,” Cuto says.
Felicity will be the first Puppy Bowl participant from Desert Harbor Doberman Rescue. Cuto explained that about 70 dogs applied for the Puppy Bowl, and Felicity was one of about 40 dogs selected.
Sunday marks Puppy Bowl’s 21st anniversary, and there will be a record 142 puppy players from 80 shelters and rescues across 40 states and two countries. Team Fluff and Team Ruff will compete against each other for the “Lombarky Trophy.”
The 2024 Puppy Bowl commanded 12.6 million viewers, and was the No. 1 non-sports cable telecast of the day in all key demographics. One year earlier, the event reached a five-year high of 13.2 million viewers.
Lisa Futo serves as a board member and associate director of Desert Harbor Doberman Rescue, Arizona’s only 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to Doberman rescue.
Anthony Chiu/Cronkite News
“We’re a small local rescue. When we heard back that Felicity was one of the finalists, we couldn’t have been more ecstatic, on a national level to be able to represent what a wonderful breed Dobermans are,” Futo says. “They made the decision. I’m not sure how, probably because she’s adorable.”
Futo grew up with big dogs and fell in love with Dobermans. She joined the Desert Harbor Doberman Rescue of Arizona to help however she could. While the rescue does not have a physical shelter, it has about 150 volunteers who take in dogs to foster while they prepare for adoption.
Desert Harbor’s services for the dogs include helping with medical problems, spays or neuters and getting them well, mentally or physically, to find their forever home.
“The rescue does such excellent work with this breed, and to showcase that this is a breed that can really succeed, and the rescue is so dedicated to this breed,” Garcia-Filion says.
Most of the rescue’s work occurs at foster homes helping the dogs, but on occasion it also takes in dogs whose owners can’t take care of them anymore.
Felicity has been at Desert Harbor Doberman Rescue since birth, and has made an impact on the rescue.
“She was the happiest of the bunch, which is how she got the name Felicity. She was always looking for cuddles, and just a happy-go-lucky puppy,” Cuto says. “There were a couple of females that would group together, but Felicity was always the happiest of the bunch.”
Felicity grew up with many siblings and had to fight for what she wanted as a young puppy. Futo and Garcia-Filion believe that will prepare her for a big performance on Puppy Bowl Sunday.
Despite her remarkable comeback, Felicity’s first few weeks were far from easy. She was faced with multiple challenges she had to overcome to get to this point.
“She was part of a really large litter, and she had been exposed to some adversity during pregnancy, which made her first two weeks of life touch and go,” Garcia-Filion says. “It required round-the-clock, 24-hour care. I slept next to the litter every night, and checked on them every 15 minutes just to make sure we could keep them alive.”
Felicity persevered through the early weeks of her life and has only grown stronger.
“She’s come from what’s called a miracle litter, and so they’re just little miracles. It was very challenging, but I mean, they’re perfectly healthy. They’re full of life. You would never know that they ever encountered any challenge in their first couple of weeks of life,” Garcia-Filion says. “I think that makes us so proud that, you know, even the most challenging puppies, whatever they’re exposed to, with just a lot of love and care, can really overcome anything and thrive as very healthy dogs.”
Pamela Garcia-Filion, Felicity’s adoptive owner, is overcome with emotion as she recalls the challenges Felicity faced during her birth.
Anthony Chiu/Cronkite News
Felicity’s foster family will be adopting her. She will have a brother named Kingston, who is 14 months old and also a Doberman. Felicity’s name will be changed to Dutchess in honor of her mom.
“Her mother’s name was Dutchess, and it was important to me and my teenage daughter who raised her that we honor her mom, who also showed a great deal of bravery, and so we named her after her mother,” Garcia-Filion says.
The NAGI Foundation, which is sponsoring Akimel on Team Fluff, offers services, resources and support for both people and their pets on tribal land. Their focus in past years has been on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian community, but they’re reaching out to other local tribes as well.
This will be the second puppy the NAGI Foundation sends to the Puppy Bowl, after sending a puppy a couple years ago, according to Sheila Iyengar, founder and CEO of the NAGI Foundation.
“I think (Akimel) is such a great representation of amazing dogs that can be found on our tribal lands. She is very, very social with people; she loves children, she loves people, she gets along with other dogs,” Iyengar says.
Iyengar, a dog trainer and behaviorist with over 30 years of experience, believes Akimel was attacked by other dogs before landing at the NAGI Foundation, based on scars. However, Akimel has grown to be comfortable with other dogs.
Akimel and Felicity have met and played together to get acclimated and ready for their trip to the Puppy Bowl.
Iyengar believes Akimel will be adopted by her foster family as well. The family is very close with the NAGI Foundation and has fostered numerous dogs.
“I think there’s something about when you get this tiny, like, little 10-pound puppy that’s been beat up by other dogs and not feeling well, and she sleeps in your bed, and you nurse her back to health, and now she’s like 6 months old and she’s probably weighing in at like 40 pounds,” Iyengar says.
The three rescue organizations will be representing Arizona at the national level, but they are also intertwined with each other through what Iyengar calls a “very symbiotic relationship.” Iyengar is one of Desert Harbor’s head trainers, members from Desert Harbor volunteer with the NAGI Foundation and the National Humane Society is one of the NAGI Foundation’s lead veterinary partners.
All four puppies are excited to represent Arizona at the Puppy Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday. Look out for Felicity, a linebacker hoping to be a receiver, doing her best to get into the end zone alongside her teammate Akimel for Team Fluff, while Delulu and Jake vie and play on Team Ruff.
There might even be a touchdown dance.
For more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org.
