Adopt Ugly Dog Contest winner Chomper, get free dog care book by Katerina Lorenzatos Makris
OK folks, what does it take? Chomper has worked it on stage three years in a row now defending his ugliness title yet still doesn’t have a home of his own.
After taking first place in 2009, third place last year, then the top dog spot again in the Del Mar Kiwanis Club’s 16th Annual Ugly Dog Contest today, Chomper commanded the Winners’ Circle with his big gleaming trophy, his long, lolling tongue, and an adoring volunteer, but without a forever family.
I met charming Chomper two years ago during his previous stint in the Ugly Dog spotlight, and assumed that—ugly or not (there’s really no such thing as an ugly dog, is there?)—he’d get adopted before I could even make it to the computer to post an article about him. The Ugly Dog Contest gets worldwide media attention and bazillions of page views.
But even after all that, there he was again today, still in his little green wagon in the California seaside sunshine, still in the patient care of San Diego Animal Rescue (SDAR), and still waiting for someone to see past this ugliness hullaballoo to the true beauty within the seven-year-young boxer blend.
Ugly Dog contest Chomper needs a home
Good-natured, gentle, and loves to give hugs
“Chomper is excellent with dogs, cats, any size children,” said SDAR volunteer Chelsea Brady. “You name it, he’s been around it. Livestock, horses, everything. He can be put in any environment and be OK.”
“He’s very sweet,” she said with a loving smile. “He’s so good-natured and gentle. He loves to give hugs. He’s a good boy. He is such a good boy.”
Perfectly healthy
Although Chomper enjoys riding in his wagon, “he can walk just fine,” Brady emphasized. “He just likes to ride in stuff. He loves car rides. He will jump in anybody’s parked car that has the windows down.”
“He’s perfectly healthy,” she said, adding that his twisted face and droopy tongue are the permanent result of an otherwise benign neurological problem. He needs no special medical care. “He does have some nasal discharge sometimes—some buggers. Other than that he eats fine, he drinks fine, he chews fine.”
In fact, “he will pretty much chomp on anything he can get his mouth onto,” Brady explained in regard to his name. “He definitely is an eater. He will open bags. You name it, he’ll get into it. Don’t let that tongue fool you.”
As for Chomper’s “ugly” teeth, Brady said, “The teeth are permanently stained. He has regular dentals once a year. The brown you see on there does not come off. Other than that, everything’s OK in there. It just looks worse than it really is.”
The right person for this champ
Chomper “has been in foster care his whole life, since he was a puppy,” said Brady. “He’s available to the right home. We’d love to see him placed permanently.”
Asked if she had any guesses as to why it was taking so long, Brady shrugged. “We’ve made news appearances and everything. I don’t know. I guess the right person just hasn’t realized he’s theirs.”
If you believe that ugliness is in the eyes of the beholder, step into the Winners’ Circle with Chomper the champ and let him claim his next First Place title—in your heart.
