By: Jenna Zhang
For almost 50 years, the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest has been running to celebrate unusually looking dogs. The contest is hosted yearly in Petaluma, California.
In the 1970s, Ross Smith started the World’s Ugliest Dog contest. This contest is not for having obedience or skills. Instead, the World’s Ugliest Dog contest is for encouraging people to give dogs a home, no matter how they look.
Scooter, a 7-year-old Chinese Crested dog, was voted the 2023 world’s ugliest dog. He earned a $1,500 dollar prize!
Scooter has a hairless body, with a thin layer of spikey white hair like a mohawk on his head. His tongue constantly flops out of his mouth. His hind legs are backward and his thin tail has wisps of fluff growing from it.
Although Scooter looks very strange, the judges found him adorable. According to the article, “Scooter Wins World’s Ugliest Dog Contest,” in the contest, the judge Catherine Liang said: “In the cutest way possible, he kind of reminds me of a hairy hippopotamus.”
Scooter had many struggles when he was young. His life was in danger when he was a puppy because of his hind legs. He was born with his hind legs facing backward and could not use them for walking.
Even though his hind legs are useless for walking, Scooter can walk on his front legs by balancing! He can also jump up and climb stairs.
Scooter has a cart with wheels that attaches to his rear end. It helps him move around quicker since it is tiring for him to always walk on his front legs.
Despite struggling when he was a puppy, Scooter is famous today and lives a happy, healthy life!
Sources: https://newsforkids.net/articles/2023/06/28/scooter-wins-worlds-ugliest-dog-contest/