We've got a new "World's Ugliest Dog" for the first time in three years. The annual event near San Francisco got canceled the last two years thanks to covid. But it was back on again this weekend, and a VERY ugly mutt named MR. HAPPY FACE won.
He's a 17-year-old hairless Chinese crested-Chihuahua mix. Chinese crested are the ones that look like big rats with a weird tuft of hair on their head. He's got that, plus his head leans to one side, and he can't keep his tongue in his mouth. (Here's a photo.)
The woman who owns him got him from a shelter in Arizona last August. She says he's really sweet even though his last owner was an abusive hoarder. He's so old, he has trouble walking now and needs to wear a diaper. But she adopted him anyway.
That probably gave Mr. Happy Face a leg up, since the whole point of the contest is to show that ugly dogs deserve love too. His owner took home a $1,500 grand prize, and also got a trip to New York to be on the "Today" show.
Source: Today Show