The World’s Ugliest Dog Contest is an annual competition that crowns one dog as the Ugliest Dog in the World. Initially started as a spoof of traditional dog shows, the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest has become a very popular event to the point where the Animal Planet Network covered it for television.
The World’s Ugliest Dog Contest takes place at the Sonoma-Marin County Fair in Petaluma, California. Winners are chosen from both the Pedigree class and the Mutt class. Those winners then compete against each other to become that year’s Ugly Dog winner. Upon winning that stage, the winner goes on to the Ring of Champions competition where he/she goes up against the past winners to determine the official World’s Ugliest Dog. Current prize winnings are $500 for the Ugly Dog winner and $1000 for World’s Ugliest Dog. 2008 marked the 20th year that event has taken place.
While the Sonoma-Marin Ugly Dog Contest is considered the official and most prestigious event, many more ugly dog contests have popped up over the years across the country, most notably the Del Mar, CA, Ugliest Dog Competition, which has a 14-year history.