Every dog has their day: inaugural Stanley Pup set to help give a man’s best friend to families

The Stanley Pup, a collective of 16 puppies representing an NHL playoff team, will celebrate its first year.

The executive producer of the Stanley Pup, Michael Levitt, wants to entertain dog lovers and hockey fans and send a message.

"So the Stanley Pup, first and foremost, is meant to entertain. I mean, how could it not? With 16 adorable rescue puppies competing," Levitt said. "But it's also about the messaging. We want people watching at home to realize that you can actually find rescue puppies at your local shelters like the Palm Springs Animal Shelter or your local rescue organization."

As Levitt came up with the idea, another popular puppy sport inspired him to combine an ice rink with puppies.

"So obviously, the Puppy Bowl is a wonderful show, and I can't say that didn't inspire me to create the Stanley Pop," Levitt said. "When watching the Puppy Bowl, it just came to me: How could there not be a hockey competition?

Being aired on ESPN+ and the NHL Network, Levitt wishes that viewers can bring home a man's best friend to their family.

"Most of the dogs in the competition are available for adoption, and you can go online to Petcolove.org/stanleypup and click on the profile of each of these dogs to learn more about how to adopt them," Levitt said. So we're really hoping that through the celebration of these dogs and showing people how special they are, that people will be inspired to go out and adopt a dog of their own."

The Stanley Pup will be aired on June 7th.

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