Email

Beagle-boxer-basset wins World’s Ugliest Dog

Penny, a 12-year-old pure bred pug, waits with owner James Montgomery to compete in the 25th annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Petaluma, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

PETALUMA, Calif. (AP) — A huge-headed, duck-footed mix of beagle, boxer and basset hound was the upset winner at the 25th annual World’s Ugliest Dog Contest.

Penny, a 12-year-old pure bred pug, waits with owner James Montgomery to compete in the 25th annual World’s Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday, June 21, 2013, in Petaluma, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Walle (WAHL-ee), a 4-year-old mutt from Chico, Calif., who was entered at the last minute, was judged Friday as the most unsightly of 30 dogs at the Northern California competition.

“This dog looked like he’s been photo-shopped with pieces from various dogs and maybe a few other animals,” judge Brian Sobel said.

Walle overcame the dominance in recent years by nearly hairless Chihuahuas, Chinese cresteds, or combinations of the two.

Owner Tammie Barbee got the dog when he was three months old.

“People come up to me and say that dog is not right,” Barbee said, “but I love him.”

Judges said they were especially impressed by Walle’s bizarre waddle of a walk.

Walle wins $1,500 and will make several network TV appearances next week, including NBC’s “Today” show and ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

The contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds gets worldwide attention, with media from around the world traveling to Petaluma, about 40 miles north of San Francisco.

Organizers say the dogs are judged for their “natural ugliness in both pedigree and mutt classes.”

Related posts

UK Conservative Party picks Kemi Badenoch as its new leader in wake of election defeat

US election: what a Trump victory would mean for the rest of the world

US-Africa relations under Biden: a mismatch between talk and action