PETALUMA — “Glugly” is the word Ann Lewis uses to describe Wild Thang, her 8-year-old Pekingese from Coos Bay, Oregon.
“It’s glamorous and ugly,” Lewis said before she and her overly furry gray-black pup waltzed down the red carpet and across the stage in hopes that Wild Thang would be named the world’s ugliest dog at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday.
“This is our fifth year in the competition, this could be our year!” Lewis stated.
And it was indeed the year that NBC News correspondent Gadi Schwartz declared Wild Thang the ugliest dog in the world before a packed crowd at the fair. The newly crowned dog beat seven competitors for the title.
Sarah Stierch via Bay City News
The group of five judges, consisting of Schwartz; Linda Witong Abraham, former Marin County deputy district attorney and human rights advocate; Brian Sobel, consultant at Sobel Communications; Amy Gutierrez, sideline reporter for NBC Sports Bay Area, and Fiona Ma, California State Treasurer, couldn’t resist Wild Thang looks that only a mother could love.
“It looks like a Roomba!” Sobel said as the puppy was introduced to the judges.
Wild Thang’s appearance can be attributed to a case of distemper when he was a puppy, which he barely survived. The virus prevented him from growing teeth, causing his tongue to constantly dangle out of his mouth. It also left him with a right leg that Lewis calls “wonky,” which makes it challenging for him to run long distances.
When Wild Thang isn’t basking in his new-found celebrity status, he and Lewis are raising money to help save Pekingese dogs in war zones in Ukraine. So far, they have helped seven dogs move to the United States and Canada.
The title of world’s ugliest dog also comes with $5,000, a year’s supply of Mug Root Beer and an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to appear on the Today show on NBC Monday morning.
