[imagesource: AP]

He’s balding. His tongue hangs to the side. He’s truly rough on the eyes.

Mr Happy Face has the honour of being this year’s winner in the ugliest dog in the world competition.

The 17-year-old Chinese crested-Chihuahua mix was crowned at the contest on Saturday in Petaluma, California.

His human, Janeda Banelly, couldn’t be more proud after adopting the senior canine from an Arizona shelter in 2021.

Accepting her mutt’s bad looks allowed her to get the $1 500 winning prize, as well as an appearance on Today, per The New York Post:

“I believe that this humble soul is also being an example, in subtle ways, to help humans realize that even old dogs need love and a family too,” Banelly told Today.

 …A survivor of a hoarder home, the poor pup experienced abuse and neglect at the hands of his previous owners, as well as myriad medical conditions, including cancer.

Mr Happy Face took top spot from eight other contenders, “including a canine that resembled a mandrill baboon and a “hairless mutant” with a Picasso-esque face”:

Indeed, Mr Happy Face is stunningly mirror-shattering:

The eyesore-honouring contest is not about ridicule, but rather about inspiring the adoption of older dogs, who as Banelly says, are totally worthy of cuddles:

It might seem cruel to poke fun at the aesthetically bereft, however, the World’s Ugliest Dog Contest wrote on its website that it “promotes the adoption of dogs, even ones that might have missing fur, crossed eyes, duck waddles or mismatched ears.”

Indeed, nearly all the contestants were rescued from puppy mills or shelters.

When Banelly adopted Mr Happy Face, she was told that he might have only one month to live due to the myriad health complications that come with being an old, probably inbred, dog.

But she had love to give anyway:

“I vowed that day, he would be so loved that he would never remember how awful his previous life had been,” Banelly wrote of her fugly fur baby, who was already made it an incredible 10 months, shattering all expectations.

What a good boy.

Here’s a closer look at the other contestants:

Meet Monkey with Scotch Haley of Pleasant Hill, California:

And Wild Thang with Ann Lewis of Coos Bay, Oregon:

I suddenly feel totally loveable with my oily hair and bundled up, eyes squinting at the day, in an outfit worthy of bed or a workout.

It’s a look.

[source:nypost]