Pabst, a boxer mix, crowned World's Ugliest Dog over a field of Chinese cresteds

RUNNER-UP

A new champion has emerged in the competitive world of ugly-dog exhibitions. Pabst, a 4-year-old boxer mix, was crowned World's Ugliest Dog at the annual event held at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in northern California on Friday.

Pabst, like many of the event's competitors, is a rescue dog -- owner Miles Egstad of Citrus Heights, Calif., adopted him from a shelter three years ago. He's named for the well-known cheap adult beverage because, Egstad said, he had a "bitter beer face."

Pabst's win was something of an upset for the competition, now in its 21st year, which often appears to favor members of the Chinese crested breed. "Hairless" Chinese cresteds (which aren't truly hairless, as tufts of fur sprout from their heads, feet and tails), with their tendency toward dental issues that cause their tongues to stick out, are typically World's Ugliest Dog shoo-ins. (Chinese cresteds also come in a coated variety known as "powderpuff," and hairless and coated puppies can even be born in the same litter. Understandably, however, the powderpuffs aren't the regular victors in the Ugly Dog competition that the hairless dogs are.)

Pabst emerged from the event's mutt class to beat Miss Ellie, the winner of the purebred class, in a runoff for the title of Ugliest Dog. Even Egstad was surprised by Pabst's upset victory. "I don’t think he’s that ugly!" he said.