Scooter, a bald Chinese Crested, is crowned World’s Ugliest Dog in Petaluma

Scooter’s fluffy ashen mohawk, long ears, wrinkly belly, slack pink tongue and backward hind legs stole the spotlight Friday night as he was named champion of the annual World’s Ugliest Dog Contest.

After the hairless Chinese Crested pup emerged at the front of a pack chock full of grotesque challengers, he was proudly hoisted into the air by his owner, Linda Celeste Elmquist, and awarded a $1,500 grand prize.

Scooter, who enjoys walks in the park and a stranger’s outstretched hand, was rescued by Saving Animals From Euthanasia (SAFE) shortly after being born with two deformed hind legs in Tucson, Arizona, according to his biography.

While he can wobble along on his front two paws — often using his butt as a tripod — he was fitted for a new cart about two months ago and attends therapy to aid his mobility. Scooter’s journey from death’s doorstep to global stardom via the Sonoma-Marin Fair affirms his owner’s claims that he is “not only surviving but thriving.”

“His handicap has not stopped him from a life of locomotion on his two front legs,” his biography said. “Swaying side to side he takes on obstacles — stones, curbs, steps — and then throwing his back end to the sky, in one final swoop — he conquers!”

Scooter faced fierce competition, including a 16-year-old “blind, deaf, snot bubble-blowing master” Chihuahua named Harold Bartholomew, and Rascal Deux, a 6½-pound “hairless mutant” whose toothless jaws and multi-colored eyes previously won nine other Ugliest Dog contests.

This marks a repeat win for the breed, after a diaper-wearing, 17-year-old Chinese Crested-Chihuahua mix named Mr. Happy Face took home the title last year — complete with his tumors, neurological issues and askew skull.

But rather than make fun of unsightly pups, Tawny Tesconi, CEO of the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds and Event Center, said the annual contest aims to showcase the beauty shining bright in every canine.

“While the World’s Ugliest Dog contest is a celebration of the imperfections that make our dogs lovable, a good many of them are rescues from shelters and puppy mills, so we use the fun and notoriety of this competition to raise awareness for dog adoption,” Tesconi said in a statement. “Dogs are like family and deserve loving homes no matter their physical distraction.”