World's Ugliest Dog: Peanut Crowned Champion

A two-year-old dog called Peanut has been crowned the World's Ugliest Dog at a contest for freakish-looking pets in California.

The mutt, thought to be a Chihuahua-Shitzu mix, beat contenders with hunched backs and patchy coats to take the top prize at the annual gathering of the least pulchritudinous pooches on the planet.

Owners and judges agreed that Peanut's wild white and brown hair, bulging eyes and protruding teeth belied a sweet and energetic personality.
Peanut's owner, Holly Chandler, of Greenville, North Carolina, said he was seriously burned as a puppy and she wanted to use her pet to raise awareness about animal abuse.
She planned to use the $1,500 (£882) prize to pay for other animals' veterinary bills.
The contest, held at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, California, is in its 26th year.
The dogs are scored by a three-judge panel in several categories, including special or unusual attributes, personality and natural ugliness.
Winners in recent years have included a duckfooted beagle, boxer and basset hound mix with a waddle, a Chinese Crested and Chihuahua mix with a protruding tongue and short tufts of hair and a Chihuahua with a missing eye and a camel's back.