Who says there's no glory in being ugly?
On Friday, judges crowned a 10-year-old mutt named Quasi Modo as the 2015 winner of the World's Ugliest Dog competition held in Petaluma, California.
The winning mutt, a pit bull-Dutch shepherd, and his owner took home the coveted $1,500 first-place prize, beating out 25 other unattractive pups, The Associated Press reports. Quasi Modo is a shelter rescue who was adopted by a veterinarian from Loxahatchee, Florida.
Quasi Modo's appearance has always been a struggle for the dog, according to a biography posted on the competition's website. Though he has birth defects in his spine and an abnormally short back, he still leads and active and happy life.
"My appearance can be a little unsettling to some ( I have had grown men jump on top of their cars to get away from me because they thought I was a hyena or Tasmanian devil) but once they get to know me I win them over with my bubbly personality," it reads. "I love to meet new people and teach them about diversity."
Second- and third-place prizes went to two Chinese crested-chihuahua mixes named Sweepee Rambo and Frodo, respectively.
The competition has drawn hundreds of ugly dogs over the course of its 27-year history. Each year a panel of three judges evaluates the dogs based on categories that include personality and natural ugliness, The Associated Press reports.
In this year's crop of dogs, the competition was stiff as ever:
