It’s a RUFF life: Ugly Dog Contest…(Not Just for Ugly Dogs) 4/19/15 at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club!

We (my daughter Emmy, her friend Sydney and I), enjoyed a great afternoon on April 19th, 2015 at the 20th Annual “Ugly Dog Contest” at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club! We arrived about 30 minutes after it started, but still caught most of the contest!

The San Diego Coastal Chamber of Commerce and Del Mar Kiwanis were hosts. Sheila McDonnell, who passed away three years ago but was founder of the contest, was recognized and honored. Sheila’s wish was “for the event to continue to take place and to continue raising money for organizations that benefit animals and children”.

There were many 4-legged contestants, their owners/handlers, an MC (Greg Vicino- Associate Curator, San Diego Zoo Global), vendor booths, raffle prizes and snacks, and of course spectators.

According to the program, Judges were Brandi Williams (KUSI), Christy Manry (Elam’s Hallmark), Anna Orlando (Kilroy Properties), Sara Ingrande (Torrey Pines Bank) and Kelly Baldieri (Del Mar Hilton).  Vendors were: Camp Run-a-Mutt, Welk Resorts, RDSI Designs, Easy Turf, Real Blue Proerties, The 4 Foundation, CruiseOne Dream Vacations, Keane Studios, Kahoots Pet Store, Total Thermal Imaging of San Diego, Built Green California, The San Diego Humane Society and Reality Changers (which received a portion of the proceeds).Product donations were provided by Vons, Albertsons, Ralphs, Whole Foods, Mary’s Tack & Feed, RDSI, Dirty Dogs, Dexter’s Deli, Keane Studios and the Del Mar Hilton.

The categories were “Cutest puppy/dog”, “Most unusual markings”, “Dog that looks like owner”, “Best trick”, “Best costume Adult & Dog and Child & Dog”, “Cutest Mutt”, “Most beautiful male and female” and finally “THE UGLIEST DOG”! The winner of the UGLY DOG contest: RASCAL!

dog64
Rascal, the winner of the Ugly Dog Contest with his owner Dane Andrew and the MC Greg Vicino (Associate Curator San Diego Zoo GLobal)

Here below are the top three finalists of the Ugly Dog Contest: Snack , Puddin’ and Rascal!

Winners of the Ugly Dog Contest
Winners of the Ugly Dog Contest

Here’s a video of Rascal and his Owner, (Dane Andrew) by Animal Planet!

http://www.animalplanet.com/video/meet-rascal/

And here is Rascals’ WEBSITE LINK: http://www.theworldsugliestdog.com/index.html

 Here’s a peek at  the contestants and a few other images of the day!  Click on each photo for a larger view.

We don’t have all the names, so leave a comment if you can provide names of the pooches)

Photos by SJF Communications. http://www.sjfcommunications.com

4 thoughts on “It’s a RUFF life: Ugly Dog Contest…(Not Just for Ugly Dogs) 4/19/15 at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club!

  1. Next year, can you please have the show indoors or at least in the shade? It was too sunny and too hot for the pets to be in the sun for so many hours. Also, too much sun for owners. Also, not all the dogs had a chance to get pics. After each dog wins first, second or third, there should be someone to photograph them with their award and basket of goodies.

Leave a Reply