Pug Jinny Lu wins World’s Ugliest Dog title in California
What’s new: The rescue dog from South Korea won $5,000 and a scheduled Aug. 17 appearance on NBC’s “Today.”
Jinny Lu, a 6-year-old pug rescued from South Korea, won the 2026 World’s Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma County Fair in Santa Rosa, California. Organizers said the annual event, now in its 50th year, is meant to promote dog adoption and celebrate animals’ unusual traits rather than mock them. Jinny Lu, whose biography says she was found in a wooden box in freezing weather, had finished runner-up in 2025 and was competing for the fourth time. She topped a field of eight dogs and received $5,000, a trophy and a trip to New York for an Aug. 17 appearance on NBC’s “Today.” Pinky finished second and Otto placed third.