 "Photo: Crista Jeremiason/Associated Press")
Gus wasn't an ordinary dog. He had three legs. He had one eye. He had a tongue that he couldn't keep in his mouth. He had worldwide fame and he brought his owner fortune.
And he was the world's ugliest dog.
Unfortunately, Gus had cancer, and on Nov. 10, Gus died. He was 9 years old.
The Chinese Crested went from living in the dumps to the high life in his short existence. He grew up in a Florida garage before being owned by Jeanenne Teed, according to the Associated Press. It was Teed who helped Gus achieve international fame.
Gus certainly had an interesting look. One leg was amputated from complications due to skin cancer. He lost an eye during a fight with a not-so-nice cat. His breed is known for having pearly white teeth fall out easily, so he lost his teeth and couldn't keep that slimy tongue in his mouth. He had a puff of white hair on his head.
Still, Gus was a special dog.
He might have been ugly, but his look grew on people. Some might even go so far as to call him cute. Others still thought he was just ugly.
His owner saw things differently. In June, Teed entered Gus in the famous World's Ugliest Dog contest in California. Despite his three legs and one eye, Gus thrived under the pressures of competition.
After showing off his unique physical attributes, Gus was crowned the world's ugliest dog.
This came as no surprise to World's Ugliest Dog contest junkies. A Chinese Crested had won the prize for the past seven years. Even though he was down a paw and an eye, Gus rose to the top of the ugly-dog world.
After being crowned top dog, Gus traveled to New York City to be on CBS's "The Early Show." His owner won $500 for his achievement and used that to treat Gus's skin cancer.
Sadly, only five months later, Gus died. The world is now without an ugliest dog.
There are contests for everything in this day and age and while the world's ugliest dog might be one of the silliest, it's certainly one that everyone always has their eyes on. Every year, the world's ugliest dog gets worldwide recognition and becomes one of the biggest stories of the year.
Gus kept his one eye on the prize and went from rags to riches by winning the famous crown of world's ugliest pooch. With the help of his endearing look and cuddly personality, Gus became the top dog.
The passing of Gus was certainly sad, but even sadder is how the crown probably won't be placed upon another pooch's head for a few months.
As for Gus, it's inspiring to see a dog that started off so low achieve so much in his short life. Gus didn't have anything going for him. He didn't have the looks the other dogs did, but he had the will and determination to become the world's ugliest dog. And that should be what he's remembered for.
The old adage says all dogs go to heaven. Gus will certainly go to his own doggy heaven and he'll probably be seen as the cutest, most cuddly dog up there.
Gus is survived by his owner, Jeanenne, and will be remembered for his friendly personality, loud bark and the title of world's ugliest dog.
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