Scamp the Tramp will never win a beauty contest. But heB次元官网网址檚 won an ugly one.
The bug-eyed, dreadlocked pooch took top honours Friday night at the 31st annual WorldB次元官网网址檚 Ugliest Dog Contest.
Owner Yvonne Morones of Santa Rosa, California, won an appearance with Scamp on the B次元官网网址淭odayB次元官网网址� show, $1,500 in cash, another $1,500 to donate to an animal shelter B次元官网网址� and a trophy the size of a Rottweiler.
B次元官网网址淗eB次元官网网址檚 Scamp the Champ, no longer Scamp the Tramp,B次元官网网址� Morones told the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat after the victory. B次元官网网址淚 think the audience saw his beautiful spirit and everything heB次元官网网址檚 given back to the community.B次元官网网址�
Scamp makes volunteer visits to schoolchildren and a local senior citizens centre.
The street dog from Compton was rescued by Morones in 2014 after she spotted him on Pet Finder.
B次元官网网址淚t was on the way home that I knew I made the right choice,B次元官网网址� she said in a contest press statement. B次元官网网址淭here we were, two strangers in a car on the way home to a new start. Bob Marley was playing B次元官网网址極ne LoveB次元官网网址� and I looked over and little Scamp was bobbing his head. It was like he knew he had found his forever home.B次元官网网址�
Scamp beat out 18 other contestants who showed off their droopy tongues, bowed legs, perpetually confused looks and other strange attributes.
The contestants got to walk the red carpet and preen for adoring fans at Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in the heart of Northern California wine country.
The competition, as they say, was fierce.
Second place went to Wild Thang, a Pekinese with beady eyes and a disturbing tongue, owned by Ann Lewis of Los Angeles.
Third place went to Tostito, a Chihuahua whose damaged ears and droopy tongue make him look like he just stuck his foot into an electrical socket. Tostito, owned by Molly Horgan of Falmouth, Maine, also won the Spirit Award.
This yearB次元官网网址檚 PeopleB次元官网网址檚 Choice Award went to Meatloaf, a bulldog mix with protruding teeth owned by Denae Pruner of Sacramento, California.
Everyone knows ugliness is in the eye of the beholder and, to a dog lover, there is no such thing as an uncomely canine. Weird-looking, maybe. Appearance-challenged, perhaps. Or, as owners of ugly dogs like to say, B次元官网网址渦nique.B次元官网网址�
Like Willie Wonka, a sweet-natured pit bull abandoned after he was discovered to have a genetic malady that left his legs so bowed he could barely walk.
With a chuckle, publicist Christy Gentry said the competition wasnB次元官网网址檛 just about being ugly.
B次元官网网址淛udges are looking for special attributes like hanging tongues, slobber, drool (the more the better). Maybe unusual patches of skin or hair,B次元官网网址� she explained.
Last yearB次元官网网址檚 champion, an English bulldog named Zsa Zsa, with a tongue that hung nearly to the ground, endeared herself to the judges when she sneezed and drooled all over them.
Soon she was headed to New York for national TV appearances. Sadly, Zsa Zsa died about a year ago at age 9.
Another previous winner, Nana, made the cover of an album by the Grateful Dead spinoff band Ratdog.
Organizers say the contest isnB次元官网网址檛 just skin-deep. ItB次元官网网址檚 also about bringing attention to the needs of rescue dogs.
Most competitors were previously abandoned or rescued from kill shelters in the U.S., found abandoned on streets or seized from unscrupulous breeders.
B次元官网网址淲hat weB次元官网网址檙e really doing is weB次元官网网址檙e showcasing dogs that have been rescued and adopted and brought into loving homes,B次元官网网址� Gentry said. B次元官网网址淭hese are sort of spokesdogs for adoption.B次元官网网址�
John Rogers, The Associated Press
