The Neapolitan Mastiff Martha is a lazy, ugly, and a hairless 3-year-old, who recently won the title of the World’s Ugliest Dog at the 29th World Dog Contest that was held in Northern California. Her owner, Shirley Zindler, received a check for $1500 and a trip to New York, according to a report by Associated Press.

Kerry Sanders, one of the judges from the NBC News, gave the crown to Martha.

The World's Ugliest Dog Contest, which is traditionally held at the exhibition in Petaluma, usually involves dogs taken from animal shelters.

One of the purposes of the competition is to persuade those who want to adopt the dog from the shelter to show that, despite physical disabilities, these animals love their owners and are not indifferent to the attention of the spectators.

Martha was blind

According to the Shirley, Martha was rescued from the nearby Sebastopol, when she was almost blind and neglected like thousands of other breeds. But Shirley, the founder of the Dogwood Animal Rescue Project in Sonoma County, took care of her, and after several surgeries, succeeded in getting her vision back.

The judges, on the basis of their first impression, decided taking into account the unusual distinctive features of the animal, its individual characteristics, and the audience's reaction, the agency added.

The judges liked Martha's behavior, which was absolutely natural, she quietly went on the stage, not paying attention to anyone and expressing her intention to perform any dog tricks.

Moe came second, Chase took third place

In the final round, Martha was confronted by another 13 contenders. The second place was taken by the oldest participant in the competition, a 16-year-old dog Moe, a mixture of Brussels Griffon and Pug. He has a well-developed sense of smell and was trying to smell everything during the World's Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair.

Unfortunately, he had lost his sight and hearing.

The third was a 14-year-old Chinese Crested dog from the distant Britain, named Chase.

Many other competitors were adopted and rescued, among them were Icky, an 8-year-old unknown breed and Monkey, a 6-year-old Brussels Griffon. These dogs, who are used to be called "ugly", had acne and permanent sticking out tongue. But they were all the loved ones for their owners.

Vicky Adler from California called her Zoomer, an 8-year-old Chinese Crested dog, "a sexy boy".
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