Meet Dee-Bone Samuel, Saquon Barky and the other stars of Puppy Bowl XXI

CNN

08-02-2025

Dee-Bone Samuel is a poodle mix playing in Puppy Bowl XXI.
John Nowak gets to photograph all sorts of events for his job: presidential debates, all-star basketball games, major film festivals.
But he gets more questions about the Puppy Bowl than anything else.
'I have a list of at least 100 people who have asked me to be a free assistant on our set or an extra set of hands if I ever need one,' said Nowak, a staff photographer for Warner Bros. Discovery, the corporate parent of CNN as well as Animal Planet, which has been airing the Puppy Bowl since 2005.
Nowak photographed all 142 of the rescue dogs that are taking part in this year's Puppy Bowl, which airs at 2 p.m. ET Sunday, a few hours before the Super Bowl. It is the longest-running television program that raises awareness about pet adoption. Trixie, Treeing Walker Coonhound/golden retriever Wimberly, Chihuahua/poodle Mindy, dachshund/wire fox terrier
This was Nowak's second year photographing the puppies, who come from 80 shelters across 40 states and two countries. He took the portraits over four days, at an arena in upstate New York where the filming of the program was also taking place in October.
'We just want to capture the dogs' personalities, and we want to show their athleticism,' he said.
It might seem like an easy day at the office — especially when you see the beautiful final product — but as Nowak stresses to people all the time, it isn't easy getting a 4-month-old puppy to look at the camera or do what you want it to.
'Sometimes they are so amped up after being on the field that they don't want to stay still at all,' he said. 'They just want to jump around, and it's hard to photograph an animal that's constantly moving in a tiny locker room.' Zinnia, Norwegian elkhound/Australian cattle dog Whoopie, Great Pyrenees mix Trio, Boston terrier
Nowak would get about five minutes with each dog, on the sidelines of the TV taping. Dogs and their handlers would be lined up outside of his makeshift locker room studio, waiting for their turn.
'There are very seasoned dog trainers that come in, or very experienced shelter employees, and they'll say, 'Oh, this dog is very treat-motivated' or 'This dog really likes this type of music or responds to these commands.' And the second that you get a dog onto the set, all of those habits just go out the door,' Nowak said.
Luckily, he and his team have tried-and-true techniques to help the dogs focus. 'We have our different treats and peanut butter and we play music. We'll cuddle the dogs to try and calm them down,' Nowak said. 'We've never had a dog that we couldn't photograph.
'But that said, we've had to do some crazy things. I'm on the floor and I'm surrounded by toys, and because I'm the camera, people are like squeaking toys right by my ear and in my face. And I'm just sitting there also making weird noises, trying to make the dog look at the camera.' Princess Sophia, French bulldog Lightning, Siberian husky/American pit bull terrier Cece, Poodle / Miniature American Shepherd Trixie, Treeing Walker Coonhound/golden retriever
Nowak photographed the dogs on a clean white background as well as a colored background with some turf so they could run around a bit, he said.
'But when I say run, they really had like 6 feet by 10 feet to run. So they really had to run at the camera. And if you're a 4-month-old puppy who's already just super energized, you don't want to run wherever people are telling you. You want to do your own thing.'
The turf gave the studio the look of a football field, but Nowak said it also reminded the puppies of something else.
'We put the turf down and the dogs were kind of like, 'Oh, this is perfect. This is grass. I should pee on it,' ' Nowak recalled. 'So every once in a while, we'd get an accident and we'd have to come up and scoop or mop that up.' Gorby and Princess Sophia, French bulldogs Charles, German shepherd
But for all the challenges, the Puppy Bowl photo shoots do come with undeniable perks.
'We have a small photo team: It's me, a digital tech, a photo assistant, a creative director, a photo editor and a (production assistant) are all in there, and at some point one of us has a dog in our laps,' Nowak said.
Working with cute puppies, while knowing that the show will help rescue dogs find homes? It's hard to beat that.
'We all really love it, and we do love the dogs,' Nowak said. Jolene, American pit bull terrier/American Staffordshire terrier
This year's Puppy Bowl players include 11 dogs with special needs, including Jolene, an American pit bull terrier-American Staffordshire terrier mix who uses a wheelchair.
'Jolene was a sweetheart,' Nowak said. 'I remember she had a diaper that we took off for (the portrait). She was pretty good. There was a dog last year named Mr. Bean that my kids are absolutely in love with, and Mr. Bean only had two hind legs. So when they brought Mr. Bean out, he could stand on his two hind legs and kind of walk, too. He was just the happiest puppy and so affectionate.'
A couple of the dogs in this year's Puppy Bowl are deaf. Nowak and the team would use LED lights to get their attention.
'Sprinkle was the one who was hearing-impaired and blind,' Nowak said. 'So we'd have to put gentle hands on her to move her around and pat the ground to communicate with her.' Sprinkle, Australian shepherd/Great Pyrenees Meatball, Labrador retriever/Australian shepherd Parsnip, American pit bull terrier/American Staffordshire terrier
One of Nowak's favorite dogs this year was Parsnip, who like Jolene was a pit bull-American Staffordshire mix.
'Just a beautiful dog that had these blue eyes, and my dog, Wally, is an Australian shepherd so he's got mist-colored eyes,' Nowak said.
Of course, it wouldn't be the Puppy Bowl without some punny, football-related names.
Saquon Barky is an Australian shepherd-Bernese mountain dog that was named after Saquon Barkley, the Philadelphia Eagles' star running back. A pair of Pomeranian siblings were named Jason and Travis, after the Kelce brothers. And Dee-Bone Samuel, a poodle mix from California named after San Francisco 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel, is one of the two finalists for this year's Most Valuable Puppy, which is chosen by a fan vote. Saquon Barky, Australian shepherd/Bernese mountain dog Rocky, American pit bull terrier Jason and Travis, Pomeranians
For the most part, Nowak said, the puppies were playful and well-mannered.
'We're more worried about, I think, making them more comfortable than anything,' he said. 'So we load them up with as much treats as they can get and we give them as much love as the whole team will give them.'
When Nowak returned home to Atlanta, he came back with more than just great photos.
'I loved every minute with it, but there was just so much dog hair over everything,' he said with a laugh. 'I got back to Atlanta and I could still smell dog like in my camera straps. I was like, 'Ah, fond memories.' ' Beethoven, Great Pyrenees mix
Puppy Bowl XXI airs at 2 p.m. ET Sunday and will be simulcast across Animal Planet, Discovery, TBS, truTV, Max and discovery+.