There's prettiness in being ugly

This is officially this year's ugliest dog in the world! Voted in a contest held over the weekend.

As you can see, Gus has only one eye. The other was damaged in a fight with a tom-cat. More than that, its right ear is mangled, presumably due to some unfortunate dogfight too. But there's something else that you can't see in the photo. It's left hind leg is missing and this one was lost to a cancer tumour. It had to be amputated in order that Gus could live.

Poor Gus. But luckily, it has an owner that was very willing to care for it. Jeanenne Teed, from Florida, said she would spend the USD1,600 prize on Gus's skin cancer treatment.

The contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in California has been running for 20 years. It's a top attraction. For the past few years, winners had been dogs that had been abandoned or neglected before being adopted by dog-lovers. Gus itself was rescued from a bad home.