HOUSTON — The Houston Texans may not have made it to the Super Bowl this year, but one team member will be representing the Bayou City in a "ruff" competition happening just several hours before the big game.
The Texans pup, Kirby, was selected to compete in this year's Puppy Bowl, which celebrates adoptable dogs and showcases animal shelters throughout the U.S.
Kirby will be one of more than 100 adoptable puppies running around and scoring touchdowns for a chance to win the "Lombarky" Trophy.
Kirby is a male Labrador retriever who joined the Texans last July at 10 weeks old, according to the Texans organization. He was named Kirby by a Texans fan through a voting contest.
Kirby is currently training to be a service dog through America's VetDogs. America's VetDogs is the same non-profit organization that trained and placed service dog Sully H.W. Bush with President George H.W. Bush after his wife, Barbara Bush, passed away.
Over the next few months, Kirby will stay with the Texans organization and be trained by an America's VetDogs volunteer before being shipped back to New York to begin his formal service-dog training.
Once training is complete, Kirby will be matched with a veteran or first responder with disabilities at no cost, the Texans said.
You can watch Kirby and all the other adoptable furbabies compete on TEAM RUFF and TEAM FLUFF in Puppy Bowl XVIII on Sunday at 1 p.m. The competition can be streamed on discovery+ and Animal Planet.
Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg will once again host and coach this year's Puppy Bowl.
Click here to meet the players of Puppy Bowl XVIII.