World's ugliest dog title goes to Chinese crested-Chihuahua mix
World's ugliest dog: The 14-year-old Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix won the honor Friday night at the 23rd annual contest at the Sonoma Marin Fair.
Yoda, a 14-year-old Chinese Crested and Chihuahua mix, prepares to compete in the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog Contest on June 24, in Petaluma, Calif. The winner of the competition, hosted at the Sonoma-Marin Fair, wins $1000 dollars and other pet perks.
Noah Berger/AP
PETALUMA, California
Yoda's short tufts of hair, protruding tongue, and long, seemingly hairless legs were enough to earn it the World's Ugliest Dog title at a Northern California fair.
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The 14-year-old Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix won the honor Friday night at the 23rd annual contest at the Sonoma Marin Fair.
Owner Terry Schumacher of Hanford, California, says the 2-pound (900-gram) dog has come a long way since she was found abandoned behind an apartment building. Schumacher says she first thought the pooch was a rat.
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Yoda's distinction comes a year after a one-eyed Chihuahua named Princess Abby claimed victory. A pedigree Chinese crested won in 2008 and another Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix was the ugliest in 2007.
In past years, the winner's owner has received a $1,000 check.
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