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.

Annika Robbins from Georgia carries firearms on her belt during the NRA annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. April 27, 2025. (Photo by Jeenah Moon/Reuters)

This picture taken on December 31, 2017 shows an Indian sadhu preparing food at a camp at Sangam, ahead of the Magh Mela festival, in Allahabad. The Magh Mela, which is known as a mini-Kumbh Mela, is scheduled to start January 2 and continue until February 13 with auspicious bathing dates throughout the 45 day period. (Photo by Sanjay Kanojia/AFP Photo)

Visitors gather outside Ark Encounter, a 100 million USD, 510-foot-long re-creation of Noah's Ark in Williamstown Kentucky, USA, 05 July 2016. Ark Encounter is the brainchild of Australian-born creationist Ken Ham; it was built with the help of state tax incentives and the sale of 62 million USD in junk bonds. (Photo by Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA)

An Afghan woman walks along a street covered with snow on the outskirts of Kabul, Afghanistan February 7, 2017. (Photo by Omar Sobhani/Reuters)

A horse- drawn carriage rides along the race course through the Thuringian Forest in Oberhof, Germany, 05 January 2017. Winter found its way to Saxony, Saxony- Anhalt, and Thuringia. In some regions it can get as low as negative 20 degrees overnight. (Photo by Martin Schutt/Zentralbild/DPA)

Girls hold hands as they help each other wade through a flooded street after the passing of Hurricane Matthew in Les Cayes, Haiti, Thursday, October 6, 2016. Two days after the storm rampaged across the country's remote southwestern peninsula, authorities and aid workers still lack a clear picture of what they fear is the country's biggest disaster in years. (Photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo)

Damaged train coaches at the site of a train accident, 180 kilometers from Bhopal near Harda district of Mahdya Pradesh, India, 05 August 2015. At least 25 people died when two passenger trains derailed in central India after heavy monsoon rains flooded railway tracks, officials said. Ten coaches from the trains toppled while approaching a small bridge just before midnight. (Photo by Sanjeev Gupta/EPA)