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9-Year-Old Bulldog Zsa Zsa Crowned ‘World’s Ugliest Dog’

“She’s just so ugly she’s beautiful,” her owner says.

A 9-year-old English bulldog with an abnormally droopy tongue and protruding teeth has been crowned as the World’s Ugliest Dog in 2018. Zsa Zsa, who survived five years in a Missouri puppy mill before her walk on the red carpet, beat out 13 other challengers to claim the title at the contest in Petaluma, California on Saturday night. Most of the dogs in the competition were rescued from puppy mills or shelters, and their walk in the spotlight is meant to celebrate their resilience and encourage pet adoption. Zsa Zsa’s owner, Megan Brainard, told The New York Times she’d named the dog after the Hungarian actress Zsa Zsa Gabor as a tribute to her strength. “She’s just so ugly she’s beautiful,” Brainard said. Brainard said she believed Zsa Zsa had made her mark on the judges with an impromptu snack session. “She was eating part of a Slim Jim on the table and just sneezed all over them and was drooling on them,” she said.