Awww...
It sounded so bad to be prized "World's Ugliest Dog"....
all dogs are beautiful !!
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.-The owners of the other contestants in this
year's World's Ugliest Dog Contest may have thought their pooches
had a chance-until they saw Sam.
The 14-year-old pedigreed Chinese crested recently won the
Sonoma-Marin Fair contest for the third consecutive time, and it's
no surprise.
The tiny dog has no hair, if you don't count the yellowish-white
tuft erupting from his head. His wrinkled brown skin is covered
with splotches, a line of warts marches down his snout, his blind
eyes are an alien, milky white and a fleshy flap of skin hangs from
his withered neck. And then there's the Austin Powers teeth that
jut at odd angles from his mouth.
He's so ugly even the judges recoiled when he was placed on the
judging table, said his proud owner, Susie Lockheed, of Santa
Barbara.
"People are always horrified when I kiss him. He may turn into a
prince yet. He's definitely a toad," she said. "I always thought
he'd be great on greeting cards or on a commercial for
Rogaine."
Sam, who's pushing 15, has something of a cult following after
winning the contest-and fans' hearts-for three years running. Last
year, huge crowds gathered around Sam and Lockheed at a local
parade and Lockheed said she received letters and calls about her
pup for weeks.
"So many people have told me they've got his picture on their
refrigerator. He certainly has a little cult following," she said.
"I did years of professional musical theater and never achieved the
fame Sam has."
Sam will appear in this weekend's Fourth of July parade in Santa
Barbara, but the recent events may be the cap on a long, ugly
career. Lockheed says Sam's now suffering from congestive heart
failure, lung and kidney problems and has definitely slowed down in
his twilight years.
Still, he enjoys regular gourmet meals of sirloin steak, cheese
balls, roasted chicken and flan (so he'll swallow his multiple
pills). He also passes occasional weekends at the Gaviota ranch of
Lockheed's boyfriend, where the World's Ugliest Dog rides in the
back of an ATV with his few remaining hairs wafting in the
wind.
