Life has not always been easy for Mugly on the streets in Britain. He was once beaten up by a teenage gang in a park. His original family abandoned him.
And then there are the stares and jokes from passers-by about his unconventional -some have even said unappealing - appearance.
But his stubby snout, beady eyes, crooked white whiskers, flapping ears and near-hairless body have now earned international acclaim for the eight-year-old Chinese Crested canine.
For Mugly has this weekend triumphed over 28 other aesthetically-challenged rivals at the hotly-contest World's Ugliest Dog competition in Petulama, California.
"I couldn't speak when they announced Mugly's name," said Bev Nicholson, his owner, from Peterborough. "I didn't know which way to look. I was shaking as much as the dog."
The accolade is course honour enough. But Mugly also won $1,000 in cash, a year's supply of dog biscuits and an invitation to a photo short and VIP "pampered pooch" stay at a nearby Sheraton hotel.
Mugly, who was rescued from an animal shelter, has a good pedigree on the looks front - he was previously named Britain's ugliest dog. He has his own website and a Twitter account with nearly 1,000 followers.
Mrs Nicholson and Mugly arrived in California five days before the contest, giving him plenty of time to catch up on his beauty-sleep. They were accompanied by a Channel 5 crew filming a new show called Mutt Ugly.
Organisers say the competing dogs are judged for what they term their "natural ugliness in both pedigree and mutt classes".
