VIDEOS PHOTOS World’s Ugliest Dog Walle is actually kind of adorable

Friday was the 25th Annual World’s Ugliest Dog Contest held at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California in which some of the homeliest hounds on the planet are given one day out of the year to shine. Unfortunately for the homeliest of homely hounds, this year’s contest featured a bit of an upset winner — and by upset winner I mean Walle (photo above), a part boxer, beagle and basset hound who is more likely to elicit “Awwwwwww!” than “Ewwwwwwww!”

After seeing Walle’s adorable mug I thought perhaps the judging panel might have included the Queen of Misunderstanding Ugly herself, Amanda Bynes, but her name was not on the prestigious list of history determiners that included Jon Provost (aka Timmy from Lassie), John Crawley of Aqus Cafe, and Brian Sobel (fair board member and judge for years).

To put Walle’s win in perspective, here he is with the two previous World’s Ugliest Dog winners from 2011 and 2012, Mugly and Yoda:

So how is it this relatively cute 4-year-old mutt managed to take home the crown? Unlike most of the previous winners, which are almost all Chinese Crested Hairlesses or Chihuahuas or some mixture of both, Walle’s ugly game wasn’t his over-sized head, but from the neck down. The official winning announcement mentioned Walle’s “short thick stature which includes a hump back and duck waddle,” and judge Brian Sobel said of Walle, “This dog looked like he’s been photo shopped with pieces from various dogs and maybe a few other animals.”

Here’s a full body side shot of Walle working the stage:

Walle’s owner Tammie Barbee, who got Walle when he was three months old, says “People come up to me and say that dog is not right, but I love him.” And with his upcoming schedule of public appearances, I think thousands of others will soon be joining Tammie on the Walle love train!

From the announcement:

Walle walked away with $1,500 for winning the title of World’s Ugliest Dog ® as well as a trophy. But fame follows as well. He will appear on Weekend Today on Sunday and the Today Show on Monday. He’ll also visit the Jimmy Kimmel Show on Wednesday.

Here are a couple video reports on Walle’s win in which you will be better able to appreciate his skillz:

And a parting shot of Walle with his World’s Ugliest Dog bling: