‘World’s Ugliest Dog’ Scooter crowned in annual competition

He’s a diamond in the ruff.

A bald-bodied and deformed Chinese Crested pup with a penchant for sticking out his tongue was crowned this year’s ‘World’s Ugliest Dog’ at the annual competition Friday.

Scooter, a 7-year-old Chinese Crested, strutted down the Sonoma Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, California on his front legs — with his backward-facing hind legs swaying in the air — to proudly accept the award.

His human, Linda Celeste Elmquist, told TODAY that the honor was “so perfectly deserved!” as he beat out seven other unsightly canines.

Elmquist adopted Scooter earlier this year after a fellow member of the Saving Animals From Euthanasia group was no longer able to care for the pouch.

Scooter’s original owner, who cared for the dog most of his life, had saved the deformed canine from being put down.

Scooter’s breeder had handed him into animal control for euthanasia shortly after he was born because of his deformed hind joints and legs, which are both turned completely backward.

The disability has never hampered the happy-go-lucky Scooter, however.

The clever dog has been walking on his front legs since he was a puppy but sits on his back legs like a tripod when it’s time to rest.

“He has no idea that he is any different from any other dog,” Elmquist wrote in Scooter’s biography.

“Swaying side to side, he takes on obstacles – stones, curbs, steps – and then throwing his back end to the sky, in one final swoop – he conquers!”

He has since been outfitted with a cart, which has enabled him to do more than he has ever been able to before — though Scooter ditched the ride for the World’s Ugliest Dog ceremony.

Scooter was up against seven other unconventionally attractive pups — including a bug-eyed “hairless mutant” named Rascal Deux and a Pekingese named Wild Thang with wild, overgrown locks — but his charm was what ultimately won the hearts of the judges.

“From the second he sits his hairless little booty and backward legs on your lap, you feel his warm, huggable power to change the meaning of the word ugly!” NBC News’ “Stay Tuned” host Gadi Schwartz, who served as a judge, told TODAY.

“He leaves you feeling love and inspiration for the differences, difficulties, perseverance and happiness that he radiates like a little heater! Even when he’s gone you can’t help but smile thinking of that sideways tongue hanging out his tiny precious mouth. (He also smells so much sweeter than he looks!).”

Scooter is the second consecutive Chinese Crested dog to win the title — last year Mr. Happy Face took home the top spot.

The World’s Ugliest Dog contest, which has been celebrating the unique characteristics of beloved canines for nearly 50 years, is meant to showcase the importance of adoption.

“Many of the contestant dogs have been rescued from shelters and puppy mills, to find loving homes in the hands of those willing to adopt,” the contest website states. “Please join us in raising awareness and support for the pets yet to be placed in a loving home.”