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ASSOCIATED PRESS / JUNE 20, 2014
In this 2014 file photo, Quasi Modo, an eight-year-old mixed breed from Florida, walks across the stage during the World's Ugliest Dog Contest, at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif.
PETALUMA, Calif. » A 10-year-old mutt whose spinal birth defects left him a bit hunchbacked is the winner of this year’s World’s Ugliest Dog contest.
Quasi Modo, a pit bull-Dutch shepherd mix, and his owner took the $1,500 prize Friday night, besting 25 other dogs competing in the contest that applauds imperfection.
Quasi Modo was abandoned at an animal shelter before being adopted by a veterinarian in Loxahatchee, Florida. His owner says some people have mistaken Quasi Modo for a hyena or Tasmanian devil, but his bubbly personality wins them over.
The contest, held at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, California, is in its 27th year.
The dogs are scored by a three-judge panel in several categories, including special or unusual attributes, personality and natural ugliness.
