Abused Dog, Peanut, Crowned The World's Ugliest Dog

Peanut, a 2-year-old mutt, was crowned the World’s Ugliest Dog at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday, June 20.

The small dog, owned by Holly Chandler, won $1,500 as the winner of the 2014 Ugliest Mutt, which Chandler will put towards helping animals that are victims of abuse. Peanut himself was a victim of animal abuse before he came into Chandler’s care, she says, which caused some of the deformities that make the dog so “ugly.”

“Don’t let his teeth scare you! He isn’t growling. He is smiling! Because of his hardships as a puppy, his lips and eyelids are deformed. He no longer has hair on much of his body including his tail, legs, feet and face. He has helped me raise awareness for Animal Cruelty by allowing me to share his story,” reads Peanut’s online profile.

Chandler goes on to call the pup, which is thought to be a shih-tzu and Chihuahua mix, “the greatest thing to happen to me!”

According to Chandler’s GoFundMe page, which raised money for the North Carolina pair to travel to the competition in California, Peanut was beaten and set on fire by previous owners.

“Because of the trauma the fire caused to my skin, I am what I have heard so many people describe me as ‘ugly.’ My hair isn’t going to grow back on much of my body. My eyes do not close because my eyelids were burned. And my teeth show because I no longer have lips,” reads the page description.

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Though the winner was determined at the Fair by a panel of judges, an online competition was also held to engage the public. Peanut won the online polls in a landslide with 1,795 votes – runner-up Quasi Modo only earned 671. In addition to naming Peanut the Ugliest Mutt, the fair also awarded SweePee Rambo the title of the 2014 Ugliest Pedigree.

The World’s Ugliest Dog Contest has existed for 25 years with the goal of raising awareness for the adoption of dogs and encouraging potential owners to look past the physical when searching for a dog at a pound or shelter.

“The annual World’s Ugliest Dog Contest 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,” reads the official press release.