If you thought a mutt with bald patches, deformed lips, and missing eyelids could never win a medal, you were wrong. Peanut, a 2-year-old Shih-Tzu-Chihuahua mix, was crowned the world’s ugliest dog by Today magazine in 2014, garnering 36,000 votes out of a total of over 76,000. The mutt’s owner Holly Chandler is from Greenville, North Carolina and she took home prize money of $1,500. Holly said she would use it to pay veterinary bills, of which there are many.
Peanut, the world’s ugliest dog, suffered serious burns while he was still a puppy and spent several months in an animal hospital until Holly adopted him. He went on to become a torch bearer for abused animals. As a result, this lovable mongrel with patchy white and brown fur got to enjoy some much-deserved fame.
But that was in 2014. More recently in 2022, a 17-year-old Chinese Crested Chihuahua mix from Flagstaff, Arizona called Mr. Happy Face won the contest for the world’s ugliest dog held at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Northern California. The annual contest is held in the fourth week of June every year since the 1970s. Most contestants are from the United States but the organizers welcome dogs from all over the world and hope to increase awareness about rescue animals.
Chinese Crested Chihuahuas are no strangers to winning ugliest dog contests. Today Magazine had reported that 9 out of the past 12 winners before Peanut, the world’s ugliest dog, were in fact Chinese Crested Chihuahuas who tend to have sporadic patches of fur and are scrawny in appearance. Other breeds that have been voted the world’s ugliest dog include a Boxer, Basset Hound, and Beagle mix who walked with a waddle.
The organizers of this contest are quick to reiterate that the goal is not to make fun of the pooches. Rather, it’s to show the world that love for a dog can go beyond appearances and that every dog is beautiful and cute in their own right.
08 February, 2023