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BS: World's Ugliest Dog Contest Winner Isn't Ugly At All
By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 22, 2013
Modified Jun 22, 2013
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Jun 22, 2013
Modified Jun 22, 2013
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Every year, the world's most passionate owners of ugly dogs gather to shame their ugly beloved pets in an attempt to make the world a more accepting place for ugly animals, or something. The whole concept is kind of weird, but everyone goes along with it because dogs blissfully don't have the capacity to understand concepts like ugly, and also even ugly dogs are pretty adorable. Well yesterday, the winner of the 25th annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest was crowned, but there was one glaring problem—the winning dog isn't ugly at all.
As any human with eyes can see from the photos above, Walle—the 4-year-old mutt from Chico, Calif. who won the contest—is not ugly. Yes, he is a little odd looking: he's a mix of beagle, boxer and basset hound, he has a slightly oversized head, and he waddles like a duck. But just look at some of the competitors he was up against: Walle may be a bit awkward, but can you really say that duck-like feet can compare to Penny's freakishly long tongue, to Rascal's ratty hair, to Isaboo's mohawk-from-hell?
"This dog looked like he's been photo-shopped with pieces from various dogs and maybe a few other animals," judge Brian Sobel said in explaining Walle's victory. "People come up to me and say that dog is not right," Owner Tammie Barbee said, "but I love him." Maybe Walle has a bit of a Picasso thing going on, but that does not make him the world's ugliest dog—remember last year's winner Muggly, an 8-year-old Chinese crested dog? Now THAT was an ugly dog.
There are only two possibilities for this year's unfathomable results: the fix was in for Walle, or the judges have lost sight of what makes for a truly ugly dog. Standards have clearly slipped precipitously in the prestigious World's Ugliest Dog Contest. But maybe it's because the judges have seen too much—maybe they're jaded. You only come across so many Yodas in this lifetime.
Having said that, they're all very good doggys, and they all deserve giant treats when they get home.
Tagged
animals
dog
dogs
scandal
the fix is in
Walle
world's ugliest dog
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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