Scamp the Tramp is a champ in annual Ugliest Dog Contest
Scamp the Tramp is a dog of unknown breeding with beady eyes, no teeth and short stubby legs.
So what’s not to love?
Judges at this year’s Ugliest Dog Contest agreed and named Scamp a champ Friday at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif.
Scamp, who was last year’s runnerup, has black and gray hair that grows into dreadlocks down his back, an “extremely round body” and 2-inchlong legs, his owner, Yvonne Morones, said Saturday. Those dubious distinctions won the pair a trophy taller than either of them and $1,500.
But Scamp is hardly content to rest on his looks. He is a hardworking dog as well.
His lengthy résumé includes being a social therapy dog and a reading dog for a first grade class, as well as representing the Humane Society of Sonoma County in a kissing booth at events and greeting passengers at the Sonoma County Airport.
“He’s pretty well known in these parts,” Morones said.
Morones, who also owns four Chihuahuas, said Scamp’s name is an homage to her grandmother, who warned her as a child not to talk to the “hobos” and “tramps” on the streets.
The annual competition not only celebrates less-than-adorable dogs, but also seeks to raise awareness about dog rescues and adoption shelters.
Morones found Scamp on Petfinder in 2014.
“I ran across Scamp’s photo, and it was just like Tinder for dogs,” she said. “I swiped right and fell in love with that face.”
Morones said she adopted Scamp from a Los Angeles animal shelter and that he was found wandering the streets of Compton, Calif., licking Taco Bell wrappers.
“He rode home with me in the car, and all the way home he sat next to me,” Morones said. The song “One Love” by Bob Marley came on the radio, and Morones said she looked over to Scamp, who with his dreadlocks, was bobbing his head.
The second-place winner Friday was a Pekingese named Wild Thang, who has distemper, a condition that affects musculature and the nervous system.
In third place and the winner of the Spirit Award was Tostito, who has no teeth or lower jaw. Meatloaf, a bulldog mix, picked up the People’s Choice Award.