Josie may not be the world’s ugliest dog, but she comes close.
The 7-year-old hairless mix, who lives with owner Linda Elmquist in Tucson, placed second in the World’s Ugliest Dog contest Friday, held annually at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California.
Top honors in the competition went to SweePee Rambo, a 4-pound, Chinese crested Chihuahua mix from Encino, California.
The contest, a tradition for more than 50 years, is used as a way to promote the adoption of dogs who don’t necessarily fall into the “cute” category.
Josie, a veteran of World’s Ugliest Dog, has been competing since 2012, but had never placed higher than third.
“She was a big deal this year,” Elmquist, 64, said. “The crowds were screaming for the two finalists. We won a trophy bigger than my grandson."
Elmquist, a nurse, fostered and subsequently adopted Josie after Josie was rescued from a local puppy mill by the group Saving Animals From Euthanasia.
When friends and family kept telling Elmquist how ugly Josie was, she knew she had a potential contender.
“I had known about the competition and always thought it was such a good way to showcase these animals,” she said. “It is not a march of shame. It offers an opportunity to let people know just how beautiful these ugly dogs can be."
Elmquist said Josie held her own this year.
“She is a tongue dog, her tongue hangs out really far, and that is always a really big thing,” Elmquist said. “She has a lot of personality. We always make her a different necklace and paint her toenails, make her look cute.”
In addition to the trophy, Elmquist and Josie got some television time on “Today” on NBC and "Good Morning America” on ABC, and won $200, which did very little to offset the cost of traveling to Petaluma from Tucson.
Elmquist said they might try again in 2017, depending on Josie’s health and Elmquist’s work schedule.
In the end, Elmquist was not surprised that SweePee won.
“SweePee is pretty ugly,” she said. “She is 17, a skinny little thing. Really bad eyes, bad skin. The owner takes good care of her, but she is old. She is definitely uglier than Josie.”
