The ugly pup took home the prize at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, California. 

Wild Thang was 2023’s runner-up after 17-year-old chihuahua mix Mr Happy Face, whose owner went to an animal shelter and asked for the “most unadoptable dog.”

The unconventionally cute Pekingese was actually runner-up for the last three years, and according to one of the judges, Fiona Ma, it was Wild Thang’s perseverance that pushed him to the win. 

“The fact that he was the bridesmaid and never the bride, I think really tugged at our heartstrings,” Ma told the Associated Press. “He deserved to win.”

In second place came first-time entree, a 14-year-old pug named Rome, who walks with a wheelchair on his hind legs. 

Little Rome spends his time visiting hospice patients and teaching children about the importance of adopting senior pets.

Rome’s owner Michelle Grady was elated at winning second place. 

“To win second place out of everyone here is a real honour,” she said, in an interview with The Star News. “I love this whole contest, and that it celebrates dogs that are perfectly imperfect.”