125-Pound Droopy, Drooling Mastiff Wins World’s Ugliest Dog Contest

And she’s perfect

World's Ugliest Dog Mastiff 2017
NBC News

We have a new World’s Ugliest Dog and she’s a big one.

The now famous World’s Ugliest Dog Contest in Petaluma, California at the Sonoma-Marin Fair crowned a winner Friday night — Martha, a 125-pound Neapolitan Mastiff, took home the title along with her handler Shirley Zindler.

According to the Associated Press, Martha was an outlier in the contest, which usually features much older and much smaller dogs. Like, last year, a blind Chihuahua-Chinese Crested mix named Sweepee Rambo took home the title.

Although many of the compliments Martha received were somewhat backhanded — an AP article described her as “gassy,” and a New York Times story said she had uncontrollable drool – she warmed the hearts of the audience and the judges when she sauntered onto the stage and immediately plopped on her side, her loose skin too stretchy to not love.

She’s perfect.

Zindler said that Martha was nearly blind when she was rescued, but after multiple surgeries, she’s able to see out of one eye (although her eyes are now red). The Times article said that Zindler runs the Dogwood Animal Rescue Project, an animal fostering group, and has fostered over 300 dogs and kittens. She’s also an animal control officer.

“The first time I saw her, I had to laugh,” Janet Palma, a Dogwood board member, told The Times. “Her huge feet, the baggy skin on her legs, the floppy skin over her eyes. She’s just darling.”

Zindler and Martha walked away with $1,500, a flashy trophy, a trip to New York for media appearances and our undying love.

Comments