Several dogs from Connecticut will make their national debut Sunday as part of the annual four-legged football game - the Puppy Bowl - before the Super Bowl.

It's Team Ruff vs. Team Fluff to win the coveted Lombarky trophy, and 12 dogs from western Connecticut were among 70 chosen to compete.

This year, pint-sized pooches were drafted from Danbury Animal Welfare Society, also known as DAWS. Filming took place in upstate New York to accommodate social distancing.

"This is actually DAWS' fourth time in the Puppy Bowl," says DAWS Director of Development and Marketing Alice Meenan. "We're kind of sworn to secrecy until the final event Sunday, but you should definitely be on the lookout for Lucy. She definitely was a great participant and great player."

New to the big game this year is Ridgefield Operation Animal Rescue or ROAR.

"The two that were selected were named Moo and Hanson," says ROAR Executive Director Kerry Dobson. "One of them was a little bit more shy, I heard."

Dobson says she wanted ROAR involved after noticing a dog from another local shelter in last year's Puppy Bowl.

"I'll actually send a little thank you to our friends over at PAWS in Norwalk," says Dobson.

PAWS, also known as Pet Animal Welfare Society, is back on the field this time represented by a puppy of many names.

"He was Mango here, and then his family called him Major, and the Puppy Bowl called him Todd Furley so he's a puppy of many names," says PAWS Dog Adoption Coordinator Lisa Barnett.

All of the local puppies you'll see Sunday have since been adopted, but there are plenty of others still looking for their forever home - like Holly from DAWS.

"It's great for us to be part of a larger movement to showcase the benefits of animal rescue and pet adoption," says Meenan.

"We want to do anything that can forward that cause so to speak. But it also brings publicity to the shelter," Barnett says.

"These are some of our little ambassadors that go out to represent you," Dobson says.

Puppy Bowl XVII airs at 2 p.m. Sunday on Animal Planet and Discovery Planet.