A Dog Named Chunky Monkey Won Over Everyone's Hearts At The Puppy Bowl This Year
Sure, the Super Bowl is fun, but the most adorable event of the day is absolutely the Puppy Bowl. Now in its 17th year, Animal Planet's big game features adoptable pups on "Team Fluff" and "Team Ruff" going paw-to-paw for the "Lombarky" trophy. There's even a kitten halftime show, so what's not to love? There are always memorable Puppy Bowl players, but one particularly fuzzy dog stole viewers' hearts. Twitter was filled with tweets about Chunky Monkey at the 2021 Puppy Bowl, and she's shaping up to be this year's MVP.
Chunky Monkey is a chow chow/Irish red and white setter mix from Virginia. Adorably, she got her name because all the puppies in her litter were named after different Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavors. According to her official bio, she has "built-in padding, perfect for a game-winning tackle." The 15-week-old puppy put that advantage to the test when she played on Team Fluff during the Puppy Bowl. Oh, and her biggest inspiration is "Ruth Bader Gins-Bark."
Chunky Monkey wasn't the perfect football player, even pausing to take a nap in the middle of the game. But sportsmanship isn't why fans tune into the Puppy Bowl, anyway; that's the Super Bowl's thing! Viewers were quickly won over by the sweet, chunky pup, and her name even started trending on Twitter during the game.
And plenty of viewers felt seen by one particular moment, in which Chunky Monkey received an excessive slumber foul for her viral Puppy Bowl nap.
Sadly for fans, Chunky Monkey isn't available for adoption. On the bright side, the pup — now named Ellie — has found a forever home with the Ashekhaunos, a Virginia family who adopted her last fall. Her owner, Cassandra Asekhauno, even shared a pic of Ellie ignoring her big TV appearance.
Seeing Ellie/Chunky Monkey compete in a big game and find loving owners is just one delightful part of this year's Puppy Bowl, which was hosted by human celebrities Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart. If you're ready to soak in all the cute puppy goodness, the game can also be viewed on the new streaming service Discovery+.
