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LONDON (UK) — There are very few
things in this world as beautiful and endearing as a downright ugly
dog.
Two weeks ago, BBC
News reported the story of the UK's "ugliest" dog,
prompting a frenzy of ugly-dog-mania that could tickle the fur of a
basilisk.
"Yogi", a 7-year-old German Shepherd (Alsatian) with the
most incongruously magnificent lower jaw you've ever seen, was just
barely managing by the skin of his teeth. After a history of
unappreciative homes, the charismatically-challenged canine wound up
once again at the RSPCA in Cornwall, where after several months of
being passed over by families, he became so depressed that he stopped
eating, says Andy Macmillan, deputy manager of the RSPCA shelter.
"Why the Long Face?"
Yogi was in need of a good home.
(Photo: BBC News Online)
"He looks like he is constantly growling," said Mr.
Macmillan, "because he has an under-developed top jaw, which
means his bottom teeth protrude over his lip.
"People take one look at him and say 'I don't want that one'.
They say he's ugly, but he is great with people and other dogs."
Well, not to worry. Through it all, Yogi managed to keep a
stiff upper lip ...er, that is... he didn't get all down in the mouth
...uh, what I mean to say is... chin up, little camper! (Oh,
never mind.) Once Yogi's predicament became known, "ugly
dog lovers" poured in from far and wide to adopt the pooch, thus
proving that beauty is only fur-deep.
"...we have taken calls about him from France, Spain and the
United States, and there has been interest from Canada," said Mr.
Macmillan a few days after the Yogi's appeal went global.
"The response has been unbelievable."
The RSPCA narrowed it down to the two most suitable homes in
Cornwall, and Yogi's lucky new family will be bringing home a
celebrity.
But it doesn't end there. Whether as a result of Yogi-mania, or
just an overall appreciation of the unusual, "ugly dogs" are
having their day all over the world.
The Sonoma-Marin
Fair in Petaluma, California (USA), is hosting the 14th
Annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest on Friday, June 21 at 6:30 PM.
Entries are still being accepted for the contest which offers up to $500
US in prize money (and just to show that they don't discriminate, they
even have a special "pedigree class" of ugly dog). There
is no entry fee, and a spokesperson told  The
Scoop that each ugly dog contestant is allowed to bring one human with
free admission (oh, please pick me, Wags).
Similarly, the 'ugly' dog with the Biggest
Tongue in the World (as reported in February's Scoop) went
on to appear on the Tonight
Show with Jay Leno. (...Jay Leno? Yogi ought to get a
load of that mandible!)
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"Last winter I was walking
one evening at dusk along the river, when I heard something
whine. I stooped down, and reached in the direction whence the
sound came, and when I thought I was saving a child, I pulled a dog
out of the water.
"That is well, thought
I. The dog followed me; but I am not fond of dogs, so I drove
him away—in vain. I whipped him away—in vain. I shut him out
of my room at night; he lay down before the door. If he came too
near me, I kicked him; he yelped, looked up at me, and wagged his
tail. I have never yet given him a bit of bread with my own
hand; and yet I am the only person whom he will obey, or who dare
touch him. He jumps about me, and shows off his tricks to me,
without my asking for them.
"He is an ugly dog, but he
is a good animal. If he carries it on much longer, I shall at
last give over hating him."
Gotthold
E. Lessing (1729–1781)
Minna von Barnhelm, Act I, Sc. viii
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"Certainly, at this blessed epoch of
the equality of mediocrity ... in these days which are the forerunners
of that promising, blissful day, when everything in this world will be
of a dull, neutral uniformity, certainly at such an epoch, one has the
right, or rather it is one's duty, to be ugly."
Guy
de Maupassant (1850-1893)
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And Thursday's Sun Online featured 11 furry (or not-so-furry, as
the case may be) finalists for its Ugliest
Pet Competition in the UK. Together with Yogi, they make up
what we affectionately call Britain's "Dirty Dozen" —of
course, in no way do we mean to imply that any of these dogs looks at all
like Ernest Borgnine (that would be too cruel)!
The photos and descriptions are courtesy of the Sun's "ugly"
dog gallery (click on any mug to see the full picture):
Simpson, 5 (and Cophie, 4) are Chinese Crested Hairless
dogs living with Sarah Reading, 41, of Crewe, Cheshire. Sarah
says: "People are over the top – one bloke said they looked
like two bags of chicken pieces. People may ridicule them
but beauty is in the eye of the beholder." |
Sydney lives with Rosemary Harber, 50, of Petworth.
Of her beloved French Bulldog (whom she often dresses in shirt
collars and a tie), Rosemary says: "People call him ‘bat
ears’ because his ears stick out and say he must have walked
into the back of a bus because his nose is so squashed. But
I love him." |
George is a Bulldog mutt who lives with Teresa Kelly of
south east London. Tersea says that George is somewhat
touchy (and vocal) about his unusual appearance: "He growls
and if someone says he’s ugly, he grumbles to me ‘no
mummy’. People say he looks like he’s chewing a wasp." |
Gizmo is a Chinese Hairless pup living in Bristol with
Melody Sloggett, 18, who was once reported to the RSPCA because
someone thought she was mistreating the dog. Melody says:
"He looks like a gremlin but he’s cuddly, playful and likes
walking on two legs. We love him because he is the ugliest dog in
the world." |
Reggie is a Boxer mutt who lives in Plymouth with human
pal John Dingle. John says that Reggie loves getting used
baby’s nappies out of the bin and adds: “He’s got a floppy
jaw and his slobber gets all over the place, like glue." |
Gizmo (your guess is as good as ours as to what breed
– or species – Gizmo is) lives with Rosemary Forsyth, of
Colchester, who says: “My husband said ‘either the dog goes or
I do’. Sadly, I still have both." |
Megan makes up for her aesthetic deficiency with extra
slobber. She lives in Hull with Elizabeth Graydon, who says:
“Megan has her own towel to mop up drool as she watches her
favourite film — Beethoven." |
Hartley & Red are cute Bulldog lovebirds who
have each other, even if they don't have looks. Their
guardian Jack Madden, from Brentwood, says: “Red’s always
looked ugly. Her jutting out teeth don’t help." |
Zelda, an 18-month-old British Bulldog, lives with
Amanda Clark, of Southend. Amanda says: "She looks very
funny when she’s asleep and her tongue hangs out of her
mouth. People cross the road when they see her fangs." |
Hooch must be Wags's soulmate. The
Boxer/Greyhound mutt lives in Sunderland with Janice Scollen, 50,
who says that she took Hooch to have his portrait done, and the
photographer laughed. (Don't worry, Hooch. You've always got
a job here at the Scoop.) |
Horace. Hey, there is absolutely nothing ugly
about this one. What a gorgeous-looking koala bear!
Horace (ok, he's a 2-year-old French Bulldog) lives in Hillesden
with Steve Roads, 46, who says: “People keep saying that he’s
so ugly he looks like ET and that I should put a hood over his
head." |
Yogi (today's feature dog) is the German Shepherd who is now
world-famous for his one-of-a-kind looks. Andy Macmillan,
deputy manager of the RSPCA shelter in Cornwall says: "We
wouldn't describe Yogi as ugly, but he is probably the most
unfortunate looking dog in the country." |
UPDATE July 4, 2002:
American Dogs Are the Ugliest
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