The city of Petaluma in California has held a competition for almost 50 years to find the “World’s Ugliest Dog.” This year, the winner was an eight-year-old Pekingese named Wild Thang, who in addition to achieving this rather unenviable distinction, has won a prize of $5,000.
It was not the first time that Wild Thang participated in the contest. This was his fifth attempt to win the crown, and he finally snagged the victory by outshining eight competitors.
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The life story of Wild Thang, the world’s ugliest dog
The dog has faced many challenges in his life. He was born and raised in Los Angeles, where at just 10 weeks old he contracted a disease of viral origin called canine distemper, a contagious and serious illness whose mortality rate is extremely high for domestic dogs.
His owner, Ann Lewis, says that he survived, but with permanent damage. “His teeth did not grow in, causing his tongue to stay out and his right front leg paddles 24/7,” Lewis shared after collecting the award.
Second place went to Roma, a 14-year-old pug in a wheelchair who joined the contest for the first time. The dog’s owner, Michelle Grady, has won a prize of $3,000 and says she feels very happy about the competition.
“I love the contest, I love that dogs are shown that are imperfect, imperfectly perfect,” she said. Roma also won the People’s Choice Award after receiving the majority of online votes from fans of the contest.
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World’s ugliest dog: A contest to raise awareness
Sonoma-Marin Fair Executive Director Tawny Tesconi explained that “while the contest is a celebration of the imperfections that make our dogs lovable, many of them are rescued from shelters and puppy mills, so we use the fun and notoriety of this pageant to raise awareness about dog adoption.”
According to the event’s website, the competition “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.”
Some of the judges who participated in this year’s contest were human rights defender Linda Witong Abrahm and NBC News correspondent Gadi Schwartz.
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