A 10-YEAR-OLD mutt named Quasi Modo, whose spinal birth defects left him a bit hunchbacked, is the winner of this year’s World’s Ugliest Dog contest held in Petaluma, California, in the United States.

    The pit bull-Dutch shepherd mix and his owner took the US$1,500 prize Friday night, besting 25 other dogs competing in the contest.

    Contest organizers said the competition is intended to celebrate, not ridicule, deformities and imperfections.

    Quasi Modo was abandoned at an animal shelter before being adopted by a veterinarian in Loxahatchee, Florida, according to his biography posted on the contest’s website.

    “My appearance can be a little unsettling to some (I have had grown men jump on top of their cars to get away from me because they thought I was a hyena or Tasmanian devil) but once they get to know me I win them over with my bubbly personality,” his biography said.

    Quasi Modo has plenty of imperfections. The pup doesn’t seem to have a neck, and his head and legs are too big for the rest of his body.

    Quasi Modo “epitomized excellence in ugliness,” the chief judge Brian Sobel said.

    Two Chinese crested and Chihuahua mixes named Sweepee Rambo and Frodo took the second- and third-place prizes, respectively.(SD-Agencies)