Rescue Pug Jinny Lu Is Officially the World’s Ugliest Dog — and We Love Her
Photo: Noah Berger / AP
Meet Jinny Lu, a six-year-old rescue pug with giant eyes, one gloriously unruly tongue and, as of this weekend, the official title of World’s Ugliest Dog.
Jinny Lu strutted away with first place at the 50th World’s Ugliest Dog Contest on August 14 at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa, California, earning her owner Michelle Grady a $5,000 prize.
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Celebrate the wonderfully weird pups.
The World's Ugliest Dog Contest puts rescue, adoption and every dog's unique little face in the spotlight.
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From South Korea’s Dog-Meat Trade to a Very Fabulous Crown
The title is funny. Jinny Lu’s road to it is not.
She was rescued from the dog-meat trade in South Korea before eventually making her way to the United States. Grady adopted her through pug rescue four years ago, and Jinny Lu has since become a little ambassador for exactly why rescue dogs deserve a chance.
She visits elementary schools with other rescue pugs to teach kids about pet adoption and has also brought some pug joy to hospice patients and people in memory-care facilities.
So, “ugliest”? Please. Miss Jinny is booked, busy and giving back.
Fourth Time Was the Charm
This was not Jinny Lu’s first walk down the runway. The little pug has competed four times, and in 2025 she came painfully close — taking second place along with the contest’s Spirit Award.
This year, the crown was finally hers. Pinky, an albino Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix, placed second, while Chihuahua mix Otto took third.
And Jinny Lu’s victory comes with one more appropriately ridiculous honor: MUG Root Beer says the champion will temporarily replace its bulldog mascot on her very own limited-edition can.
The contest may have a deliberately silly name, but organizers have long emphasized that the point is not to shame the dogs. It celebrates the oddballs, the rescues and the pups whose unusual faces might otherwise make them easier to overlook.
Which brings us back to Jinny Lu: rescued, loved, serving her community and now wearing the crown.
Congrats, Miss Jinny. You are ugly-beautiful perfection.
Watch Jinny Lu Claim the World’s Ugliest Dog Crown
Get into the pearls, that legendary tongue and Jinny Lu’s winning moment at the 2026 contest below.
Sources: Associated Press; Scripps News; World’s Ugliest Dog Contest.
