The 2023 “World’s Ugliest Dog” Competition Is Officially Underway

Dogs are cute, at least, many of them are. If you’ve been around dogs before in your life, you probably realize that while there are plenty of adorable pups in the world, there’s also a fair mix of straight ugly dogs. It’s hard to even write that, but it’s true.

In fact, there are so many ugly dogs in the world that a competition was created to celebrate them!

Photo: Flickr/Wayne Dunbar License: CC BY-ND 2.0

The “World’s Ugliest Dog” competition has been happening for nearly 50 years as a way to honor and draw attention to dogs that might otherwise be overlooked.

According to the contest’s website, “The annual World’s Ugliest Dog® Contest is not about making fun of ‘ugly’ dogs, but having fun with some wonderful characters and showing the world that these dogs are really beautiful!”

Those who’d like to enter their pooch for a chance to win the competition can fill out an application which must include a photo, short biography, and a vaccine record.

Photo: Flickr/Wayne Dunbar License: CC BY-ND 2.0

Per the rules page, all the dogs will be judged in “one large class” instead of by breed, and the winner will receive $1,500 as well as a trophy declaring them the “World’s Ugliest Dog.”

Prizes and trophies will be awarded to second and third-place winners as well, and a special “Spirit Award” will be handed out to a lucky participant based on their biography.

Photo: Flickr/Wayne Dunbar License: CC BY-ND 2.0

The official competition is scheduled to begin on June 23rd at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in California and go through June 25th.

You can enter your pup into the contest for free through May 19, 2023, and after that, the entry fee is $10. Each entry comes with free admission to the contest as well as a special gift for each contestant.

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