Animal tragic
THE WORLD’S UGLIEST PETS
ITV, 8pm BEAUTY is in the eye of the beholder, but sometimes it’s just very difficult to see.
In this gently mocking documentary, actress and animal lover Caroline Quentin goes off in search of the most unsightly animals. She wants to challenge her prejudices and discover “the beauty in the beast”, but also find a British contender for the imminent World’s Ugliest Dog Contest in California.
Caroline, who has five dogs, six cats, seven chickens and occasionally keeps pigs, sheep and turkeys, thinks all of her animals are absolutely beautiful.
And as she meets these aesthetically challenged pets, she is sometimes repulsed. But rallying as best she can, she comes across a hairless guinea pig (a “skinny pig”) with scary red eyes, a hairless rat, a giant squelchy snail and a hairy tarantula named Peaches. And no, the cute name doesn’t make it any more appealing.
There’s Mugly (World’s Ugliest Dog 2012) who has an impressive wardrobe to rival that of any human, and some hairless Sphynx cats – yes, you can see every bone through their skin.
And owner Ashley has to promise Caroline at least three times that her pet rat won’t scamper on to her. “Do you love her?” Caroline asks, incredulous and backing away.
But it’s Chinese Crested dog Chase who wins Caroline’s heart to head with her to the US.
Chase, rescued from a puppy farm (an issue highlighted in a Mirror campaign), is hairless, toothless, has a permanently lolling tongue and a cataract.
Can he steal the crown? It all gets surprisingly emotional...