The World’s Ugliest Dog Contest is held every year in Petaluma, California as part of the Sonoma-Marin Fair. There are various categories such as Pedigree Class, Mutt Class, Ring of Champions and Ugly Dog of the Year. For this last category, the winners of the Pedigree and Mutt classes are chosen. Ring of Champions is a battle between the ugliest dogs in the world and the ugly dog of the year. There is also a Crazy Dog Tricks contest. The winner not only gets the title of ‘The Ugliest Dog in the World’ but also a $1,000 prize. Both the dog and its owner became world famous and appear on talk shows and newspapers around the world.
The event has been around for 22 years, is sponsored by Animal Planet and is broadcast on television. The Sonoma-Marin Fair and its partners, the Sonoma County Humane Society, are trying to educate the public about animal issues and offer opportunities for dog adoption. Dogs from all over the world can participate in the competition.
The 2009 winner was a boxer mix named Pabst and ended the seven-year reign of the Chinese Crested breed. Pabst was a four-year-old boy, rescued from a shelter by his owner.
The 2003, 2004 and 2005 titles were won by Sam, who was a Chinese Crested dog. Chinese Cresteds are hairless dogs, but hairlessness varies from dog to dog. It’s probably their long tongue and huge eyes that make them so compatible with the title. Half of the entries in the pedigree class in 2009 were Chinese Cresteds. Sam’s owner had to be persuaded to take the dog after an adoption agency turned him down. Susie Lockheed, Sam’s owner, suffered from allergies that could worsen if she was around furry dogs. Susie took Sam for a two-day trial, but this turned into five years of companionship. Mrs. Lockheed first saw Sam while her first owner was walking him. He wasn’t friendly with her, but she liked the way she looked since he had had rescued hairless dogs before her. When Sam’s owner had to move house, no shelter wanted to take him in because of his age, appearance, and personality. After winning the title, Sam became the most famous ugliest dog, appeared on CNN and met Donald Trump.
Princess Abby was a four-year-old purebred chihuahua who won the 2010 pageant. Princess Abby was adopted by a veterinarian a few months before the pageant. She competed against Pabst, among others.
Miss Ellie, one of the ugliest dogs in the world, also won the 2009 competition in the pedigree category. She sadly, she died in June 2010, at the age of 17 and went blind in her last years. Since winning the title, she has helped animal shelters raise thousands of dollars. She was considered a hero in her hometown of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. More than $100,000 was raised for the local humane society. She had appeared on billboards and commercials, and was featured on Fox News.