Wild Thang caught distemper as a puppy and is now toothless.
Photo: JOSH EDELSON
The World's Ugliest Dog competition has been held for nearly 50 years and according to its website “celebrates the imperfections that make all dogs special and unique”.
This year's competition – held during the 2024 Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California – included eight contenders, most of which were rescue dogs.
The winner was an eight-year-old Pekingese called Wild Thang.
His human companion, Ann Lewis from Coos Bay, Oregon, told Sunday Morning‘s Mark Leishman that Wild Thang took the title on his fifth attempt.
“He was awarded the [prize] because he's what they call ‘glugly' – glamorous ugly.
“He's got this ginormous coat, but underneath … there's kind of a little, decrepit dog that has survived distemper, but he's healthy, happy.
“It's just left him with a few handicaps – he has no teeth, so his tongue sticks out, but he's loving life!”
Lewis put Wild Thang's recent success down to getting older and “just a little bit uglier”.
“He's been the crowd favourite for a while, [and] the judges as well, liked his personality, his temperament.
“He loves the crowd and he loves the people. He was being a total ham on stage, and [he's] just a happy dog.”
Ann Lewis and her happy hound, Wild Thang.
Photo: JOSH EDELSON
Lewis entered the competition to promote rescue dogs, and Wild Thang is also an advocate for pet vaccination, having contracted distemper from another rescue dog as a puppy.
“Fortunately he had his first set of shots, but he was only eight weeks old, so he wasn't due for his second, so he's an advocate for please, please, please get your dog shots. There was thousands of dollars [in vet fees] when a $200 shot could have avoided it.”
Wild Thang beat a number of rivals for the title, including a one-eyed pug named Rome who was wheeled around in a “doggy wheelchair because his rear end didn't work”.
“He was pretty darn ugly. I thought he was going to be the one to beat.”
Most of Wild Thang's $5000 prize would go towards dog shelters, she said.
The hound often made personal appearances at dog rescue and adoption fairs, where he was popular for selfies with attendees.
“It's exciting because it's promoting such a good cause.”
