Pooch Of The Week
I’m no dog lover so I’m rather immune to the supposed charms of the creatures. It is rather gratifying to read, though, that we are encouraged to celebrate diversity in the shapes, sizes and behaviour traits of pooches, just as we do with humans.
Take the World’s Ugliest Dog competition, now in its 30th year, which was held in Petaluma in California last weekend. The winner was an English Bulldog – are you surprised? – going by the rather unlikely name of Zsa Zsa. The slobbering creature with a lolling tongue, chin that thrusts upwards and resplendent with nails painted a shade of pink, scooped the $1,500 prize for her owner, Megan Brainard from Minnesota. I’m reliably informed that the dog is on the left of the photo.
Last year’s winner was a Neapolitan mastiff called Martha whose stand-out features were her massive cheeks that drooped almost down to her knees and flapped around in a rather disturbing fashion when she moved her head.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as someone once said.
