World's Ugliest Dog Contest Entries Due Wednesday

PETALUMA, CA — Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but ugliness - specifically, the world's ugliest dog - will be determined by a panel of judges at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma next Saturday.

The 2018 World's Ugliest Dog contest is slated to take place June 23 at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds. The deadline to enter is Wednesday, June 20, organizers said; the applications must be received, not just postmarked, by that day.

The winner of the nearly 30-year-old contest gets $1,500, a trophy and television appearances in New York, according to organizers. The two runners-up also get cash prizes and trophies.

Last year, Martha, a drooling, droopy 125-pound Neapolitan Mastiff, won the hearts of the judges and the crowds in this, the most counterintuitive of contests.

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"We were impressed by a 125-pound dog with 300 pounds of skin. And Martha was the overwhelming crowd favorite," said judge Brian Sobel, a media consultant, at the time.

Complete instructions for entering the contest can be found online.

Photo of Martha courtesy of the Sonoma-Marin Fair