Is this the world's ugliest dog?

It's often said that dogs tend to resemble their humans. But that wouldn't be much of a compliment for the owner of the dog in this photo. What are you meant to say about a creature like this? "Isn't it sweet"? Or maybe: "Such cute ears"? They're certainly hard to ignore.

Another dog is proudly held aloft by its owner. She, too, is wearing big sunglasses. It's almost as if they don't want to be recognized, or associated with their peculiar-looking canines. If so, the tactic was not a great success.

Hundreds of people came to Santa Rosa, California, on Friday to witness the selection of the most unattractive dog in the world. The World's Ugliest Dog Contest has been around since the 1970s, and the organization stresses that it's not about making fun of ugly dogs. The point is to emphasize that ugly dogs have cute, attractive sides as well.

Many of the contestants are rescue dogs. The World's Ugliest Dog contest aims to publicize the plight of abandoned animals and encourage people to give them a new home.We don't know whether this particular dog came from a shelter, but his current home must be quite a colorful one. Clothes make the man, they say, and presumably they make the dog as well.

....Poppy. This 7-year-old Chinese crested dog placed third in Friday's contest. No wonder his owner, Allison Green, looks happy. Or maybe she's happy about the prize money: $2,000 (around €1,700). The winners are decided by jury that takes into consideration aspects including appearance, personality and the response of the audience.

...Jinny Lu. This 5-year-old pug has previously taken part in the contest, in 2023, but left empty-handed. Maybe it's got uglier in the interim, because this time it was deemed ugly enough to take second place. Although compared to the figure holding her, Jinny Lu is really quite attractive. And she's just made her owner, Michelle Grady, $3,000 richer.

...Petunia. A part-bulldog mongrel is the winner of this year's coveted title. The 2-year-old is distinguished by its short legs, bulging eyes, wrinkled face and lack of hair.

Petunia netted the $5,000 first prize (around €4,300) for her owner, Shannon Nyman of Oregon. At least one of them looks pleased about it. Petunia seemed less than impressed by the character handing them the check. It's the contest's mascot — which, if there were a contest for the ugliest mascot in the world, would certainly be in the running.