Rescued Long Beach dog to be featured in Animal Planet’s “Dog Bowl”

Mr. Bojangles from the Long Beach Animal Shelter competing for the win

Posted
City Council President Anthony Eramo and members of Posh Pets announced introduced Mr. Bojangles at a press conference Friday.
Anthony Rifilato/Herald

The City of Long Beach announced that a local dog will be a featured player in this year’s “Puppy Bowl Presents: Dog Bowl II” on Animal Planet.

At a news conference at City Hall Friday, City Council President Anthony Eramo joined representatives from Posh Pets Rescue and the Long Beach Animal Shelter to send off Mr. Bojangles to this year’s event.

The one-hour special, hosted by award-winning animal advocate Jill Rappaport, airs Sat., Feb. 2, at 8 p.m., and the show is aimed at finding permanent homes for shelter dogs.


According to “Today,” Bojangles, a poodle and Shih Tzu mix, is the first-ever wheelchair player in “Dog Bowl.” Animal Planet has aired the popular “Puppy Bowl” since 2005 to coincide with the Super Bowl. “For the second year in a row, the network will also feature “Puppy Bowl Presents: The Dog Bowl” as a fun way to encourage the adoption of senior shelter animals, special-needs pets and hard-to-adopt breeds,” according to Today.

Mr. Bojangles arrived at the NYC Animal Care Centers in 2017 with a spinal injury that left him partially paralyzed. Posh Pets Rescue of Long Beach took him in and got him the surgery he needed.

“Mr. Bojangles had some success, as he can walk with some weakness in his back legs,” the city said in a news release. “He was provided a wheelchair so he can run and play with the others. He even likes to dance on his front paws! Mr. Bojangles has been in foster care for nearly two years. The hope is that someone will see him and adopt him. He will surely dance into that special someone’s heart.”

Mr. Bojangles will be joined by his neighbor, Jessie, a border collie mix that was rescued from a meat market in Thailand. Rescuers were able to send her to the United States in that hopes that she could find a permanent, loving home.

“Unfortunately, Jessie still hasn’t found one,” the city said. “She has been a resident of the Long Beach Animal Shelter for three long years.”