An 8-year-old Pekingese named Wild Thang won the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest 2024. Here's everything you should know!
Eight-year-old Pekingese wins ‘World’s Ugliest Dog’ title
Image credit: wildthangofficial/Instagram
California: An 8-year-old Pekingese named Wild Thang took home the “World’s Ugliest Dog” title in the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest 2024 held on June 21, 2024. The competition saw the appearance of several other canines.
Wild Thang, from Coos Bay, Oregon, had been competing in the contest for a while now.
World’s Ugliest Dog
The 8-year-old Pekingese has participated in four competitions in the past, in which the dog secured second place three times. Wild Thang defeated seven other competitors at the event that took place in California’s fairground.
On winning the competition sponsored by Mug Root Beer, Wild Thang along with the top two winners were awarded cash prizes. While Wild Thang took home $5,000, the second place and third place were awarded $3,000 and $2,000. Apart from the cash prize, Wild Thang will get a chance to be featured on the limited-edition can of Mug Root Beer.
Pictures of the World’s Ugliest Dog

Wild Thang wins World’s Ugliest Dog Contest.
Image credit:
wildthangofficial/Instagram
Wild Thang was born in Los Angeles. The dog’s life had been challenging. When he was a puppy, Wild Thang contracted distemper, a contagious viral disease seen in dogs, from a rescue foster. The virus took the life of the other dog. Luckily, Wild Thang survived. But the poor dog was left with a couple of physical challenges.

Wild Thang is the World’s Ugliest Dog
Image credit:
wildthangofficial/Instagram
The viral disease caused the dog permanent damage to its teeth and left his right leg paddling throughout the day. Fortunately, Wild Thang braved through it all to become healthier and fit.
Soon after recovery, Wild Thang has been promoting the importance of vaccinating pets. The pet has an Instagram page that actively engages with the community.
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