The November death of three-time Worlds Ugliest Dog Contest winner and national phenomenon, Lil Sam, means this years contest is any dogs game.
One thing the winner will share with Sam: ugliness so awful its almostcute.
This years triumphant pooch has some big shoes to fill. Sam, the 14-year-old Chinese Crested owned by Susie Lockheed of Santa Barbara, Calif., was hairless, blind and his skin speckled with moles and warts. A fatty tumor rose from the middle of his chest. Even the kindest observers said he bore an uncanny resemblance to the Cryptkeeper.
This years 18th annual contest, to be held on June 23 at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif. includes upstarts Tater Tot, Sams longtime girlfriend, and Pee Wee, an early favorite in online voting who sports a skewed nose, asymmetrical eyes and a too-long tongue that flops out of his mouth.
Organizers say entries in this years contest will come from as far away as the United Kingdom. And the stakes are especially high: The winner of the 2006 contest will meet past winners in a Championship run-off.
Visit the fairs website to cast your vote for the Worlds Ugliest Dog and to learn how to enter your dog in the June competition.
Posted: March 31, 2006, 5 a.m. EST