Puppy Bowl: DC-Area Broadcaster's Passion Project

WASHINGTON, DC -- Few sporting events generate as much drama, comedy and overall cuteness as Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl. The perennial favorite of pet lovers across the globe provides a welcome diversion on Super Bowl Sunday for non-sports fans and sports fans who like a little pregame warmup.

Both the Puppy Bowl Pregame Show and Draft are shot at Discovery Studios in Washington, D.C., while the game itself is recorded at Discovery Studios in New York. Three of the Pregame hosts are based in D.C., including Alexandria, Virginia resident Sonya Gavankar.

"I joke that the reason I went to journalism school is to read a teleprompter while holding a pound puppy," she said. "But really, it's the coolest job I've ever had."

Gavankar, who will be hosting the Puppy Bowl Pregame Show for the third time this year, has provided commentary on a variety of topics, from hard news to cooking shows, on ABC and CBS affiliates, PBS and QVC.

Her current day job is working for the Freedom Forum Institute, which operated the Newseum in Washington, D.C. for 20 years, until it closed at the end of December. Gavankar was the director of public relations there.

"I'm working as we decommission and de-install our exhibits over the next six months and move over to our new administrative space on New Jersey Avenue," she said. "So, I'll continue on with the parent organization. Very little in my actual job changes in that sense. I just don't talk about the Newseum work as much as I used to."

According to Gavankar, the Newseum could return one day in a different incarnation, but for now, the Freedom Forum will continue its work of championing the First Amendment and educating people about freedom of the press and journalism.

While Gavankar continues her work at the Freedom Forum, she still finds time for the occasional side hustle like the Puppy Bowl.

"I do a lot of freelance work on the side to keep my fingers still in cutting-edge production and journalism, and then of course, very fun things come up out of the blue like Puppy Bowl," she said. "And so I'm happy to take a brief leave from my day job to go and do this as a passion project."

Although it may seem like the Puppy Bowl is just a chance to play around with a room full of puppies — and it is that, for sure — it also has a serious side. All of the animals who appear on the show are available for adoption. They all come from rescue organizations across the country, including Last Chance Animal Rescue in Waldorf, Maryland and Alexandria's Operation Paws for Home.

"The mission, of course, of Puppy Bowl and all things around it is really to make sure that animals get a loving home," Gavankar said. "And this is a great way to show off dogs all over the country that are in search of their homes and for people who are not into sports at all. This is a great way of having an alternative on Super Bowl Sunday."

This year's edition — Puppy Bowl XVI — airs Sunday, Feb. 2, at 3 p.m. The Pregame Show, featuring Gavankar, other hosts and lots of puppies, is streaming online now.

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