By Ranjan Bhaduri
California, Mar 9, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The dog owners generally do not think their pets to be ugly. Still, the California based Del Mar Kiwanis Club organizes a contest for choosing the ugliest dog each year and the money obtained from it is spent for charity. This year, the title was won by a Chinese Crested pure breed, who is fondly called Rascal by his owner Dane Andrew. However, his owner thinks he is a very handsome dog. Rascal beat four other contenders and he also managed to beat the dog who won the title the previous year. Sheila McDonnell, who is the producer of the show, said that dogs are not ugly animals but some people think a few species of them are. She also said as long as the dogs are loved by the owners, it hardly makes a difference.

The event had garnered around $10,000 last year. The animals who get the awards are given prizes. The fund raised from the party is spent in welfare of the animals. The San Diego county supervisor is a big supporter of the cause. Sheila McDonnell expressed her happiness that despite foul weather, a lot of people attended the event. It would be wrong to assume that the contest was held only for selecting the ugliest dog. There were positions for most unusual, cutest and best dressed dogs in the contest.

Rascal won the title owing to his lack of hair and teeth, which gives him a weird look. There were some dogs at the event with eye catching costumes and they invited cheers from the people gathered.