Although the Steelers did not make it to the Super Bowl this year, the area was represented in the Super Bowl’s canine counterpart. Gertie and Margo, two puppies from the Pittsburgh area were featured in Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl XX on Sunday, February 11.

Gertie and Margo are two Bichapoos which are a mixture of Bichon Friese and Toy Poodle. They were rescued from a puppy mill in Ohio and were in the care of Paws Across Pittsburgh before being adopted into their forever homes.

Gertie and Margo played on opposite teams, Gertie on Team Ruff and Margo on Team Fluff. Team Ruff emerged victorious with a final score of 72 to 69. Gertie and Margo were specially selected to participate in the Puppy Bowl after being submitted for consideration by Vicki Thomas of Paws Across Pittsburgh.

Gertie’s dog mom, Bethany Hess, was shocked when Vicki called and suggested submitting her. “I was like, ‘ok great,’ not thinking she would get picked. So, when we got the call that she was going to be there, we were so excited.”

Paws Across Pittsburgh hopes that Gertie and Margo’s time in the spotlight will encourage more people to adopt dogs from rescues and animal shelters.

“We were thrilled to get invited and have our dogs on there, it was a really great experience. We’re really hoping to get some adoptions from there and get some new volunteers and new fosters, we’re really hopeful about that,” Jackie Armour, President of Paws Across Pittsburgh stated.

Puppy Bowl XX was the biggest one yet, with 131 puppies from 73 different shelters and 36 states involved in the production.