Wild Thang, an eight-year-old Pekinese, won this year’s World’s Ugliest Dog competition, the BBC reported. The dog from Coos Bay, Oregon, had entered five previous versions of the competition, but this is his first win.
Wild Thang’s look stems from the attack of canine distemper he suffered when he was just 10 weeks old. While the pup survived the disease that can often be fatal, it prevented the growth of his teeth, because of which his tongue dangles out of his mouth, and left him with a muscular disorder in one leg.
The World’s Ugliest Dog competition has been held for almost 50 years and “celebrates the imperfections that make all dogs special and unique”, according to its website. Wild Thang, and his owner Ann Lewis, will receive $5,000 and feature on NBC’s The Today Show. The annual contest seeks to emphasize the importance of adopting all animals. It is not about making fun of “ugly” dogs, but “having fun with some wonderful characters and showing the world that these dogs are really beautiful!”
This year’s contest, held during the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California, included eight contenders, mostly rescues who came from shelters before finding their forever families. A 14-year-old pug in a wheelchair named Rome came second and won a prize of $3,000. It was Rome’s first time in the contest. “I love that [the competition] represents dogs that are imperfect—imperfectly perfect,” his owner Michelle Grady said, according to the BBC.
Another first-time entrant, a 14-year-old white coated and mixed breed rescue dog named Daisy May, won third place and will receive $2,000. She was rescued from the streets at two years old. She has lost her hair, teeth and vision. Daisy May’s owner, Elizabeth Whitehouse, said her podium finish came as a surprise. “I thought she would be the most beautiful ugly dog, but as it turns out, other people don’t see the beauty in her that I do,” she said.
Voting was also open online for fans to select one special dog to receive the People’s Choice Award, which went to Rome.
