Some Dogs are petite and cute. Martha isn't one of them. She is not pretty, but she is pretty ugly and is now a world champion. Martha was crowned the first place winner at the 29th Annual World's Ugliest Dog Contest in Petaluma, California at the Sonoma-Marin Fair on Friday, June 23.

Martha's description

Martha is a three-year-old Neapolitan Mastiff that weighs 125 pounds. She has very big feet and big floppy ears that had to be lifted up so her face could be seen. The dog has baggy skin, an uncontrollable drool, and red eyes even though two surgeries still left her blind in one eye.

She also had surgery on her stomach. Martha sleeps a lot and snores very loudly which she did during the competition.

Martha had to go through a lot to even get to the point of being crowned ugly or anything at all. She had been neglected and was almost blind when she was rescued by Shirley Zindler, founder and owner of Dogwood Animal Rescue Project in Sonoma County. The previous owner had tried to sell Martha on Craigslist. For winning the contest, Martha is considered the world's ugliest dog. To her owner, Martha is a beautiful creature.

How the dog won

Martha won without even trying. She laid on her side on stage in the middle of the competition. She didn't let her owner show her off like the other dogs were paraded around to be seen by the judges and the crowd.

In spite of all that, Martha won.

Kerry Sanders of NBC News was one of three judges who had no problem when it came to declaring Martha the winner. Her handler and owner received on Martha's behalf a championship trophy, prize money amounting to $1,500 and a free trip to New York where they will appear on the "Today" show and other talk shows.

The ugliest dog contest has been going on for about 30 years, and Martha also gets her name on the list along with other ugly dog champions over the years.

Martha was the only dog in this year's contest that wasn't small enough to be held and carried around by her handler. The other 13 dogs were much smaller and much older. The second place winner was Moe, a 16-year-old Brussel Griffon-pug mix.

He couldn't see or hear, but he had a keen sense of smell. The third place winner was Chase, a 14-year-old Chinese Crested-Harke mix whose owner had brought him all the way from the United Kingdom to compete in the contest.

Erin Post, CEO of the fair, said no matter what the imperfections are, all dogs are celebrated as pets because dogs are a great addition to families. Watch to see Martha when she appears on NBC's "Today" show and other talk shows in the near future.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED