Claim:
Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning bought a failing dog rescue center called "Maple Creek Rescue."
A rumor that widely circulated online in mid-June 2025 told the story of five-time NFL Most Valuable Player Peyton Manning buying a dog rescue center that was about to close and renovating it with heated floors and personalized items for the animals.
For example, on June 16, a user managing the Magic Clement Facebook page posted (archived) the story, receiving more than 160,000 reactions, 24,000 comments and 32,000 shares. At least two other Facebook pages posted the same story, also receiving thousands of reactions, though our research found the Magic Clement page was the first to post it.
(Magic Clement/Facebook)
The post showed pictures of Manning holding what appeared to be a golden retriever or similar breed outside a kennel. The story began, "Peyton Manning buys a dog rescue center that's about to close – but what he did to the dogs has the internet surprised."
The detailed narrative described how "Maple Creek Rescue" had 72 hours before closure, with unpaid bills and a landlord's ultimatum. According to the story, Manning walked in wearing a Broncos cap and spent time with "Rusty, a 14-year-old retriever with one eye and arthritis" before buying the entire property and renovating it with heated floors, embroidered blankets and plaques reading "Forever Home—Donated by #18."
However, the story was false. We found no evidence of Manning purchasing any dog rescue center called Maple Creek Rescue.
Also, the image featured in the post was likely the product of artificial-intelligence software. Hive Moderation'sdetection tool flagged the image as "likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content" with a 99.9% confidence score. Another AI image detector,Sightengine, similarly determined with 99% certainty that it was "likely AI-generated."
Snopes reached out to representatives for Manning but had not received replies by the time of publication.
Debunking the Manning dog-rescue rumor
The story contained specific details about the rescue center's name, the financial struggle of the center, and Manning's actions, yet no news media outlets reported on the matter, per searches of Google, Bing (archived) and DuckDuckGo (archived). Had Manning purchased an animal shelter facing closure, such an action by the high-profile former quarterback would have generated significant news coverage.
Also, searches found no legitimate animal rescue organization named Maple Creek Rescue that matched the story's description. The claim included specific details such as the number of dogs and extensive renovations, but these elements could not be verified through any credible sources.
Further, the Magic Clement Facebook page has a documented pattern of posting fabricated inspirational stories about Manning performing acts of kindness, many featuring AI-generated images. The page's bio stated (archived): "Stories to uplift. Some are true. Some are imagined. All are meant to inspire." Snopes has previously debunked multiple stories from the Magic Clement page, including claims about Manning adopting an 8-year-old girl and calming a crying baby on a flight.
While this specific story was false, Manning has adopted rescue animals. In July 2018, Manning and his family adopted (archived) a 2-pound puppy that the Animal Rescue Fund of Mississippi had rescued from an abusive and neglectful situation. The puppy was reportedly kept "in a garbage bag or tied with a rope around her neck, covered in fleas and infected with internal parasites."