Punts for Pups: Bucs player, Packers fan team up to unite veterans with shelter dogs

Punts for Pups

The Buccaneers are on a roll coming off a decisive win over the Miami Dolphins. Things were going so well for the hometown team that they only punted once.

"The good thing is when we do punt. We're really never backed up because it’s really hard to stop Tom Brady," Bradley Pinion, Bucs punter told FOX 13. "So, we're usually around mid-field, so it really works out really well for this program because I'm getting a lot of short-field punts, and I'm OK with that!"

The program he's referring to is called "Punts for Pups," which he has spearheaded for a few years now.

"A punt isn't always a great thing because you're giving the ball back to the other team. So I was like, you know what…what's the good part about punting? Putting them inside the 20," Pinion said. "Now, that’s a great thing for punting, and now let’s take something great and make it greater. Make something good out of a punt. That’s what we're looking to do."

Pinion and his wife cover the adoption fees for a shelter dog every time he pins the other team, deep inside their own 20.

"We were at Buffalo Wild Wings and Bradley comes in to punt against the Rams and he gets it inside the 20 and we're all like, ‘Yeah!’ and people were looking at us thinking, 'Are you mental?’ It’s the Punts for Pups and they say, ‘It’s really cool,’" explained B.J. Ganum, Sierra Delta founder, who is also a Green Bay Packers fan.

This is the first year that Pinion teamed up with a group called Sierra Delta.

"We got everybody in there watching, watching for the punt and it’s helping get a vet and a dog find their way home together," Ganum said.

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Sierra Delta is an organization that often times pairs a vet with a shelter dog and provides access to dog training to tailor to the veteran’s individual needs.

"Our goal is to help as many veterans and dogs out of shelters as possible," Pinion said. "The joy that these veterans have and the dogs tails are wagging…I mean it's very heartwarming. It's something that if you're not careful, it'll bring tears to your eyes."

For more information, head over to Sierra Delta’s website.