MEHERRIN, Va. -- While next Sunday may be all about the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, there’s another team Central Virginians may want to root for.
The Southside SPCA’s own Flea Flicker, dubbed "perfect" pup, will be competing on “Team Fluff” in this year's Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet.
“We’re thrilled to be a part,” Francee Schuma, the shelter's assistant director, said.
Schuma said she got the call for the opportunity in the fall and then was tasked to draft the dog to compete. She said she fell in love with a group of dogs left in rural Central Virginia.
“She was a true abandoned and rescue story and we are proud she is the one to represent us,” Schuma said.
Then it was about finding the right name to put on the roster and the shelter came up with Flea Flicker. They said it was perfect because that is the name of a trick football play — and they felt it was kind of a tongue and cheek name to go along with the dog.
Flea Flicker then went through rigorous training to prep for the big game which consisted of throwing toys up and down hallways for her to retrieve and acclimating her to other dogs, according to the shelter.
Schuma then packed their bags and drove to upstate New York for the Bowl. She described the experience as an 12-hour event of shooting the game and taking pictures.
While she wasn’t able to divulge any of the results of how Flea Flicker did, she did acknowledge she was very proud of her.
“Flea Flicker is definitely a personality, so I want you to notice her and how she gets all up in with the referee,” she said.
Southside SPCA said the chance to compete for the Lombarky Trophy has been gamechanger since they are a small shelter serving 12 rural and low-income counties in South Central Virginia. They find a lot of rural animal controls do not get the help they need, and they are the only shelter often in town.
“We’re excited to be apart of something and have the name recognition," Schuma said. "We’ve had a great uptick in adoptions which we are completely thrilled about.”
It’s opportunity this shelter has said they have loved tackling as they highlight the need for adoption and cheer on one of Central Virginia's own.
“We all came together and found the perfect puppy to enter into the Puppy Bowl," Schuma said. "We want to save more animals and this is what it is helping us to be able to do.”
You can cheer on Flea Flicker during the annual Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet next Sunday at 2 p.m. There is also a watch party The Southside SPCA isl also hosting a watch party at O'Toole's Restaurant & Pub in Midlothian Sunday at 2 p.m.
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