Meet Puppy Bowl's all-rescue lineup!

Did you know that all the animals featured on Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl are Petfinder alumni? That means all the puppy players, all the kittens in the kitten halftime show -- and even this year's new piggy pep squad and the bird who will be "tweeting" the action -- came from Petfinder shelters and rescue groups.

Puppy Bowl VIII airs Sunday, Feb. 5 from 3-5 p.m. ET/PT -- but you can visit AnimalPlanet.com for a sneak peek at this year's starting lineup, including Brandy (right).

As we were last year, associate producer Jane Harrell and I were lucky enough to meet all of this year's puppies (check back here on game day for exclusive behind-the-scenes photos).

The puppies are just as cute in person as they are on TV. But the real MVPs are the adoption group staff and volunteers who travel to New York City from as far away as Texas and California to show millions of viewers the adorable pets waiting to meet them at shelters and rescue groups!

After the jump: See all the adoption groups who brought pets to Puppy Bowl.