As football fans gear up for Sunday’s big Super Bowl 50 game, dog lovers are anxiously awaiting Feb. 7 for another reason: Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl XII! Yes, the annual event is back with even more furry fun and surprises for animal fans of all ages.

This year, 84 puppies will compete, either on Team Ruff or Team Fluff, for the big win – and we’re not just talking about the game or the coveted Bissell MVP (Most Valuable Puppy) award. These pooches are all hoping to win a forever home as they’ve come from 44 shelters and rescue organizations across the U.S. in search of a loving family.

Puppy Bowl XII’s pregame show starts Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET, featuring analysis and commentary from sports correspondents, and the two-hour game premieres at 3 p.m. ET (and will be repeated for 12 hours). In addition to the main event, which takes place at GEICO Stadium, viewers can look forward to a purr-fect halftime performance from a bevy of cute kittens (the felines take over the Bay Area, where the actual Super Bowl is being played this year, including landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf and “Al-Cat-Raz”); chirpy chicken cheerleaders; and, of course, the return of fan favorite Meep the Bird tweeting away throughout the day.

Returning for his fifth year as Puppy Bowl’s official rufferee is Dan Schachner. The 41-year-old actor, host and announcer from New York is tasked with making sure the pups follow all the rules while playing a safe game. He also has to clean up any “accidents” on the field. Additionally, this year, the father of two boys - ages 7 and 9 - is getting a new special assistant, Stanley the Skunk, which he told Headlines & Global News all about in an exclusive interview.

“He has a lot of authority,” said Schachner about Stanley. “He’s very intimidating because of his natural abilities. The puppies really do pay attention when he throws a flag down because they’re afraid of him getting angry and spraying them.” The ref jokingly added that Stanley was chosen to be his assistant because “we didn’t want to pay for a uniform - it was either a skunk or a zebra and a skunk was a little easier to handle.”

Read the rest of Schachner’s interview below to learn more about Puppy Bowl XII, adopting pets and why he enjoys fostering dogs.

Where did Animal Planet find the puppies that played in Puppy Bowl XII?
Puppy Bowl puppies are from all over the country. It’s our 12th year now, so we have a lot of people from shelters and rescue groups sending us pictures of their dogs. It makes it hard to choose, but we try to represent a variety of breeds and sizes every year.

Have most of these puppies been abandoned?
Some are. It depends on where they’re from. Some are from the Sato Project, which is in Puerto Rico. There is this beach, unfortunately, called “Dead Dog Beach” where people abandon their dogs – you send your dog there to, sort, of die. The Sato Project rescues them and finds them homes in the United States. So we have a couple of dogs from there. A lot of them aren’t abandoned, they’re simply surrendered to rescue groups and shelters. Some are just born to large litters. Sometimes they find a pregnant mom and her litter is born inside the shelter. Really, there’s a variety of reasons why a dog may be in need of a home.

And they are all young puppies, correct?
They have to be between 12 and 24 weeks old in order to be in Puppy Bowl. We want them young. We want them cute. We want them not trained to really give people an idea of what it’s like to have a little puppy around. We want them in all of their untrained glory so we can really enjoy the chaos of the whole event.

Once all of the puppies are selected, is there a training process to figure out which ones will be best on camera?
No, no training at all. We let them loose. When they arrive on set, there are veterinarians, the Humane Society, professional handlers, volunteers, plus our own crew to make sure they’re ready to be on camera, but all that means is that they’re safe. We just want our dogs to be safe and not hurt each other or themselves. If we can see that that’s what’s happening, we don’t care if they bark or if they sleep or poop or pee – that’s what puppies do!

Speaking of poop and pee, how much waste is there usually?
We used over 300 plastic baggies during this year’s taping. We used 1,500 wee-wee pads. In terms of paper towels, we used over 50 of those giant, extra-large rolls. Between the bags, wee-wee pads and paper towels, you kind of have an idea as to how dirty it can be.

How long did it take to film Puppy Bowl XII?
Three days: two days for the dogs, and one day for the cats and other little segments that we shoot. It winds up being 90 hours of footage and, as you can imagine, there’s a lot of editing to do if we only have a two-hour show. It’s a lot of work, but we get it done.

You filmed Puppy Bowl XII in New York City in October. Have most of the dogs that participated already been adopted?
Some have. What happens is, we have so many volunteers and crew on set, close to 150 people, so some do get adopted right then and there. Some crew member falls in love and takes them [home] that same day – that’s always a fun story. But then what happens is, these shelters will return back home and they’ll be able to advertise: “We have puppies that were just on Puppy Bowl.” That’s a tremendous draw for potential adopting families. So, in the weeks after the Puppy Bowl shooting, those shelters get a big uptick in interest. And then, by the time Puppy Bowl airs, if any dogs still aren’t adopted, which happens, guaranteed by the time that thing airs, people have gone online and [asked]: “That one – is he still available?” If he is, by the time the show is over, that dog has found a home. By the time the show airs, it’s pretty much a guarantee that all the dogs have got homes.

Do you work with no-kill shelters?
We work with a variety of shelters, not all no-kill. The reason why we work with the ones that euthanize is because, sometimes, those are the ones that need the most help. If you got a rescue dog, we’re willing to consider working with them.

Why is the Puppy Bowl better than the Kitten Bowl?
I haven’t seen the Kitten Bowl, but I’ve got to imagine that we’re better because we were the first people to do it, and it’s a tried and true formula that we’ve made work. But if they have the same goal as we do, which is promoting adoption, then we’re really excited.

Why is the Puppy Bowl better than the Super Bowl?
It’s better because it’s something that the entire family can get behind. You can say the same about the Super Bowl, but if you don’t have a team that you’re rooting for, you’re not really that invested in the big game. This is something you can really get into. Kids are really into it. It’s really easy to follow, really entertaining, for a great cause and we keep the action moving. I think it’s this nice alternative to the Super Bowl. And you don’t have to choose – you can watch the Puppy Bowl at 3 o’clock and then go watch the big game later on. Have a full day of entertainment!

Who are you rooting for in the Super Bowl?
I have to remain impartial with the puppies, but I don’t have to with the Super Bowl. I’m going to root for the Broncos. I like them because they have Peyton Manning and he’s sort of an older player and, for this year’s Puppy Bowl, we’re highlighting the importance of adopting senior dogs, as well as puppies, because a lot of senior dogs languish in shelters. So we have an entire Hall of Fame segment where we’re bringing out past MVPs, who are all adults, and explaining how great adopting an older dog can be for a family. They’re already house trained, really grateful to be in a home and are often calmer – they’re just as awesome! A lot of people have questioned Peyton’s abilities later in life and he is out there to prove that the older players still got it – and Puppy Bowl agrees!

Your family fosters dogs. Why do you enjoy doing that?
I’m trying to teach my own family, my kids in particular, about the importance of what shelters and rescue centers do in terms of keeping dogs, literally, alive during this very crucial process. Often times, if dogs don’t find foster homes, the alternative is they have to be euthanized. That’s kind of a dark thing to introduce to a kid, but if I can promote some awareness about the value of fostering…. Yeah, we have to say good-bye to this dog after five or six weeks and that really stinks and you’re sad, but we pretty much kept that dog alive. We gave that dog a second chance in the weeks we had it because the shelter did not have enough room to keep him or her. It’s a nice message to send to my kids.

Puppy Bowl XII premieres Sunday, Feb. 7, at 3 p.m. ET on Animal Planet. Visit the show’s official website, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram pages for more details.

For more on Dan Schachner, follow him on Twitter.