Meatloaf, a bulldog mix, walks onstage during the World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif., Saturday, June 23, 2018. The dogs walk down a red carpet and are evaluated by a panel of judges. The winner takes home $1,500. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Republished June 24, 2018 - 3:33 AM
Original Publication Date June 23, 2018 - 2:36 PM
PETALUMA, Calif. - A 9-year-old English bulldog was named the winner of the 2018 World's Ugliest Dog contest in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Zsa Zsa won the title Saturday night at the Sonoma-Marin Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma.
The dog's owner Megan Brainard of Anoka, Minnesota, will receive $1,500 for Zsa Zsa's win. Brainard found Zsa Zsa on a pet-finding site, according to the contest bio.
Dogs in the annual competition flaunt their imperfections - some have hairless bodies, others have lolling tongues. The dogs and their handlers walk down a red carpet. The dogs are evaluated by a panel of judges.
The contestants included a blackhead-covered Chinese Crested-Dachshund mutt, a bulldog mix with excess wrinkly skin and a Pekingese named Wild Thang.
Last year's winner was a 125-pound (57-kilogram) gentle giant named Martha — a Neopolitan Mastiff with gas and a droopy face.
The contest is in its 30th year. It is usually held on Friday nights, but organizers moved the competition to Saturday in an effort to draw a bigger audience.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018