Chin Kee Teck - 'Gus' crowned world's ugliest dog

At a dog fair in California, a three-legged, one eyed, cancer-afflicted dog named Gus has been crowned the World's Ugliest Dog.

Gus is a Chinese Crested dog, beat other dogs to take the title at the Sonoma-Marin Fair. Gus' owner, Jeanenne Teed, from Florida, said she would spend the $1,600 prize money on treatment for Gus's skin cancer.

The competition has been going on for 20 years and is one of the fair's top attractions. Marketing director of the fair, Vicki DeArmon, said that in the past years, winners had been dogs that had been abandoned or neglected before they were adopted by dog-lovers. She added that although the dogs look hard to care for, the new owners were definitely taking good care of them.

Gus was rescued from a bad home, with one of his legs amputated as a result of his skin tumour. His loss of one eye is due to a fight with a tomcat.


Personal Views:

This shows that despite dogs being abandoned worldwide, there are people who are willing to take care of them, even if they are not as good-looking as other dogs. I feel that such contests will show the world that all dogs have the right to live and win. Also, everyone will be able to see the kind of 'ugly' dogs from these contests, and know that a lot of them are subjected to abuse and were mistreaten by their previous owners.

Being an attraction to the fair itself proves that majority of people do have a heart for abused animals. For those who go with the intention of simply mocking the dogs, they will be able to see the ugly dogs' owners willing to sacrifice their time and take care of such dogs and this will allow them to change their views.