East Yorkshire's Peggy the Pugese bids to be named UK's ugliest dog

The owner of a dog vying for the dubious title of ugliest in the UK said she chose to adopt the quirky canine as she looked so "unloved and unusual".

Four-year-old Peggy, believed to be a Pug and Chinese Crested cross - or Pugese - belongs to Holly Middleton from Leven, East Yorkshire.

Mrs Middleton said while Peggy may cause a stir in the street she is a much-loved member of the family.

"She's like Marmite, you either love her or you don't," she said.

Mrs Middleton, 36, adopted Peggy when she was just six months old. Describing her, she said: "She has tufts of hair on her head and her feet and her tongue hangs out.

"It has always been like that but it doesn't stop her from doing anything, she can eat she can drink, it does go in her mouth, it just doesn't stay there!"

"We were looking for a dog and we knew we wanted something small, something that would fit in our life quite easily, but we didn't necessarily go looking for a quirky dog," she said.

"I just love anything that is a bit unloved and unusual, so when I saw her on the adoption website I knew I wanted to take care of her."

While she instantly knew she wanted to give Peggy a home, choosing a name was a little harder.

"We really struggled with a name because nothing seemed to suit her, but my grandma was here and she said she reminded her a bit of her mum, so we went for that," Mrs Middleton said.

She added: "Sometimes I forget that she doesn't look like a normal dog and then we walk down the street and you can hear people whispering and saying 'Oh wow, look at that!'.

"My eldest was a bit embarrassed of her at first because his friends all had nice-looking dogs like cockapoos, but he thinks she's pretty cool now."

Peggy is one of seven dogs taking part in the competition run by photography printing firm Parrot Print, with the winning receiving a grooming session and photo shoot.

Matt Dahan, Parrot Print founder, said: "We received hundreds of entries and these seven were the ones who made our eyes hurt when we looked at them.

"There really are some ugly mutts out there in the UK and we hope our contest will celebrate the best of them."

Other contenders include Roger - a Pug, Toy Poodle and Ugly Boi cross - from Brighouse, in West Yorkshire, and Marnie - a French Bulldog - from Swindon, in Wiltshire.

The winner is due to be announced next month.

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