It's that time of year again when dogs with unusually large heads, hairless bodies and other oddities compete to be the World's Ugliest Dog. This year's winner? A 2-year-old mutt named Peanut, whose wild white and brown hair, bulging eyes and protruding teeth belie his sweet, energetic personality. Peanut's owner, Holly Chandler of Greenville, North Carolina, says he was seriously burned as a puppy and she wants to use her pet to raise awareness about animal abuse. She plans to use the $1,500 prize to pay for other animals' veterinary bills. The contest, held at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, California, is in its 26 year. The dogs are scored by a three-judge panel in several categories, including special or unusual attributes, personality and natural ugliness.

Seven month old Christine Joy shares her pram with two 5 week old Gunsure Golden Cherry's cocker spaniel pups from Gunsure Kennels in Ashford, Middlesex. 22nd May 1953. (Photo by Fred Morley/Fox Photos)

Dotty, a short-haired pointer belonging to Simon Kirby MP, devours a Parliament shaped cake watched by a jack russell Maximus (L) owned by Matthew Offord MP during the Westminster Dog of The Year competition in Victoria Tower Gardens on October 13, 2011 in London, England. The annual competition was won by Conservative MP for Tiiverton and Honiton Neil Parish with his Labrador Wilberforce, who was among the 15 Conservative MPs to enter versus only two Labour MP entrants. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

When wedding photographer Katie Yeaton saw that one of her dogs had white fur and the other had black-and-white fur, she did what only a wedding photographer could do: she threw them a backyard wedding complete with professional photography to remember the day. (Photo by Katie Yeaton)

A police dog licks its face after receiving food during the dog festival, as part of celebrations of Tihar at Nepal Police Academy in Kathmandu October 22, 2014. Hindus all over Nepal are celebrating the Tihar festival, also called Diwali, during which they worship cows, which are considered a maternal figure, and other animals. Also known as the festival of lights, devotees also worship the goddess of wealth Laxmi by illuminating and decorating their homes using garlands, oil lamps, candles and colourful light bulbs. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

A car buff came home to find his prized motor looking a like a dog's dinner after his pet pooch chewed through the £80,000 Aston Martin.
Luce, a four-year-old border collie spaniel cross, waited until builder Royston Grimstead had left for work before she started chomping her way through the DB9 Volante's wheel arch, doing £3,000 worth of damage.

“Carli Davidson is both an internationally recognized award winning photographer and an experienced animal trainer and caretaker. She is able to capture the innate personalities of her subjects using her professional understanding of animal behavior. She is a freelance photographer for the Oregon Zoo, and works regularly with domestic animals both commercially and personally for her fine art projects”. (Photo by Carli Davidson)

“Dog fighting is a form of blood sport in which game dogs are made to fight, sometimes to the death. It is illegal in most developed countries. Dog fighting is used for entertainment and may also generate revenue from stud fees, admission fees and gambling”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A bloody Afghan dog is bleeding with many wounds after he lost a dog fight November 24, 2006 in Kabul, Afghanistan. While the Afghan government is trying to ban the violent use of dogs for fighting, the unofficial sport remains a regular weekly event. Afghan dog fighting is popular among Afghan men who gamble on the dogs making upwards of 15,000 Afghanie (300 USD). (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)