French bulldog mix Petunia takes crown at World’s Ugliest Dog Contest in Sonoma Co.

SONOMA COUNTY, Calif. — The dogs strutted the red carpet and showed off their unconventional looks in hopes of walking away with $5,000 in cash, a Mug Root Beer merchandise deal and bragging rights from the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday.

This year’s field was composed of cancer survivors, senior dogs and aspiring social media stars. However, only Petunia could steal the judges’ hearts.

For Petunia, the first-prize winner, it might have had something to do with being a hairless French bulldog mix — or as her owner, Shannon Nyman said, “naturally naked.” Petunia and her siblings were surrendered by a hoarder breeder in Las Vegas but now she lives a comfortable life in Eugene, Oregon.

“She’s the most wrinkled 2-year-old I have ever seen,” one of the judges said. Another opined that this is what they imagine a hippopotamus would feel like.

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Petunia receives coconut oil treatments daily and Nyman embraces her Benjamin Button-ness. Nyman said Petunia has been getting healthier since her rescue, but the only fur she’ll ever sport is a small bit of fuzz on the top of her head.

Other dogs came to compete with no expectation of prizes or winning, but rather to just show off their good looks.

“I’m very hopeful, but people keep telling me that he’s too cute to win,” Merle Haggard’s owner, Elizabeth Burchfield of Long Beach, said before the contest.

The annual event highlights adoption and rescue centers in the Sonoma area. The director of The Pug Hotel in Rohnert Park, Michelle Grady, brought Jinny Lu, a 5-year-old pug with a micro-jaw, a lengthy tongue, and adorned in pearls. Jinny Lu was a rescue from the Pug Rescue of Korea and now resides in The Pug Hotel, a sanctuary for senior pugs and those that were traumatized.

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“She brings so much joy to people,” Grady said of Jinny Lu. “We’ve taken her to schools, rehabs, and hospitals and people always love her.”

Jinny Lu placed second in the ugliest dog contest and received the Spirit award, which is chosen based on audience reactions and cheers. Third place was awarded to Poppy, a 6-year-old Chinese Crested and Brussels Griffon mix with one eye.

“The judges already said see you next year,” Grady said. “I’ll be back because it’s a great way to bring attention to adoption.”

The title of World’s Ugliest Dog also comes with a merchandise collaboration with Mug Root Beer consisting of custom shirts, which will now display Petunia; limited edition cans of the beverage, with her as the face of Mug Root Beer; dog toys available on TikTok, and an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to appear on the “Today” show on NBC on Monday morning.