With inverted hind legs and a loose tongue, a new champion of the ugly dog ​​is crowned

Perhaps it was Scooter’s resemblance to a glossy black jelly bean that earned him the title of champion of the world’s ugliest dog contest on Friday night.

Or maybe it was his shocked, mohawk-like hair — strands that stood tall in defiance of gravity — that pleased the judges in Petaluma, California, at the Sonoma-Marin Fair.

His tongue hangs loose from his mouth. His hind legs are reversed. Its small and gray tail is wispy.

And he sure is easy to love, the judges concluded.

“In the cutest way, he kind of reminds me of a furry hippo,” said Catherine Liang, one of the judges in the competition.

In a competition that promotes dog adoption and celebrates imperfection – see the winner of the 2022 Chihuahua mix with his head tilted; the king of 2019, Scamp the Tramp; the 2016 champion, Sweepee Rambo – the judges awarded the grand prize this year to a 7-year-old dog who had been counted out for his looks.

Scooter, a Chinese Crested dog, had been taken to the animal control center in Tucson, Ariz, by a breeder. brought to be euthanized.

But he was eventually rescued and given a “chance of finding a good home and a fairly normal life,” according to his biography.

“Today, Scooter is not just surviving, but thriving,” says his biography. “He has no idea he’s different from any other dog.”

After he was declared champion, his owner, Linda Elmquist, lifted him high, his belly blotchy and wrinkled.

Mrs. Elmquist had loved him at first sight and felt she could really help him.

Scooter uses a wheel cart by his back legs to move around more easily, but he can also balance and walk using only his two front legs.

“At first, it was a little sad to see what condition he was in,” Ms. Liang said. “But as we interacted with him more, we realized how really cute and loving that animal is.”

What ultimately endeared Scooter to the judges, she said, was how he could “take care of himself.”

Yet years of walking on his front legs have taken their toll, and he now has to “take rest breaks more often, propping himself up on his bottom, which he uses as a tripod,” according to his biography.

About two months ago he got a new cart to help him with his mobility.

Wheels or no wheels, the crowd at the game didn’t care. They applauded him as he was brought on stage. He wobbled. He winked with his dark eyes. He flashed his ever-hanging tongue.

Scooter was, in the opinion of the public and judges, a winner.