World’s Ugliest Dog Contest Winner Mr. Happy Face 2022 | DogExpress
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Meet the ugliest dog in the world, Mr. Happy Face, 2022

World’s Ugliest Dog Contest Winner Mr. Happy Face 2022

Meet the ugliest dog in the world, Mr. Happy Face, 2022

On Friday, NBC’s Kerry Sanders acted as a judge at the 2022 World’s Ugliest Dog contest in Petaluma, California, and helped crown a hairless Chinese crested-Chihuahua mix named Mr. Happy Face the winner.

Meet the ugliest dog in the world, Mr. Happy Face, 2022
Meet the ugliest dog in the world, Mr. Happy Face, 2022

Janeda Banelly, the owner of Mr. Happy Face, said the title was an honor. In August 2021, she adopted the dog from an Arizona shelter after he was saved from a hoarder’s house.

Banelly said, “I believe that this humble soul is also being an example, in subtle ways, to help humans realize that even old dogs need love and a family too.”

According to the official website of the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds Event Center website, Banelly said that she was told that Mr. Happy Face would only have around a month to live because he was an “old dog” who needed lifelong medication. He also suffered from tumors and several conditions and could have been inbred.

Ugliest Dog Contest Winner Mr. Happy Face 2022
Mr Happy Face rests before the start of the competition.(AFP: Josh Edelson)

Banelly knew the challenges she would face if she brought Mr. Happy Face home. Still, she chose to love him to the best of her abilities. She said, “He was the happiest creature I had ever met.” “He hobbled up to me and chose me. I vowed that day, and he would be so loved that he would never remember how awful his previous life had been.”

Sanders was one of five judges at the competition. So he got to get up close and personal with the dogs vying for the title, including a Pekingese named Wild Thang that reminded him of the fictional Tribble species in “Star Trek.”

“He’s a Tribble. Sometimes, he’s just trouble,” his owner laughed.

In the show, Tribbles were small furry creatures that could reproduce at an alarming rate. Wild Thang certainly had the mane to match the fictional creature.

Wild Thang
At the “World’s Ugliest Dog” competition, Wild Thang came in second.

Most dogs that joined the contest were rescued from shelters and puppy mills by loving parents. While showing the importance of adoption, the competition helps to “celebrate the imperfections that make all dogs special and unique,” a press release said.

It doesn’t matter if some animals have missing fur, crossed eyes, or duck waddles; they can enter the contest to show off their unique beauty. “Since the ’70s, the Contest has been a testament that all dogs do not have to meet AKC pedigree standards to be man’s (or woman’s) best friend,” the release said.

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