THE pups came from as far away as New Jersey and Tennessee, in the U.S., in hopes of landing a new nickname: “Beautiful Bulldog.”

    They were all defeated by an Iowa native who likes eating snow and watching turtles.

    A 2-year-old dog from Des Moines named Tank won the 36th annual Beautiful Bulldog contest Sunday at Drake University. Tank received top honors as well as a crown and cape.

    He will appear before more than 16,000 fans — or, royal subjects — at the university’s Drake Relays to be honored as the mascot of the event, which will be held from Thursday through Saturday, according to the contest’s website.

    The tongue-in-cheek beauty pageant, which featured 50 dogs, is the kickoff event for the Drake Relays track meet.

    “He’s funny,” said Tank’s owner, Duane Smith.

    Pageant organizers narrowed a pool of more than 100 hopeful pups by a lottery held last month. (SD-Agencies)