Yoda wins the 2011 World’s Ugliest Dog Contest

Yoda wins the 2011 World's Ugliest Dog Contest

 

Yoda’s short tufts of hair, protruding tongue, and long, seemingly hairless legs were enough to earn it the World’s Ugliest Dog title at a Northern California fair.

The 14-year-old Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix won the honor Friday night at the 23rd annual contest at the Sonoma Marin Fair.

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Owner Terry Schumacher of Hanford, Calif., said the 2-pound dog had come a long way since she was found abandoned behind an apartment building.

Schumacher said she first thought the pooch was a rat.

Yoda’s distinction comes a year after a one-eyed Chihuahua named Princess Abby claimed victory.

A pedigree Chinese crested won in 2008 and another Chinese crested and Chihuahua mix was the ugliest in 2007.

In past years, the winner’s owner has received a $1,000 check.

Dog rescued floating on roof 3 weeks after tsunami.

Japan’s coast guard has rescued a dog drifting on a rooftop off the country’s coast, three weeks after a tsunami ravaged the north east.

It was unclear how long the dog had been at sea when a helicopter crew spotted it on Friday more than a mile off the town of Kesennuma.

It took several hours to capture the dog because it scampered across other floating wreckage when it saw officers winching down from the chopper.

Officials said on Saturday that the dog’s blackish collar gave no clues about its owner. After the rescue, the dog kept quiet and ate biscuits and sausages on a patrol boat.

From CBS

Kesennuma, Japan (CBS) — The Japanese coast guard says it’s found a dog who survived the massive tsunmai and reportedly remained at sea.

The dog believed to be at sea since March 11th, was reportedly picked up by the Japanese coast guard on Friday (April 1).

The rescued dog is believed to have survived the massive tsunami of March 11 and also three weeks at sea…. it appeared in good condition.

The dog was reportedly found on the floating roof of a house that had been washed out to sea, 1.1 miles from the coast of Kesennuma in northern Japan. It evaded capture for several hours as it scrambled over the large floating rubble raft.

Friday was the first day of an intensive operation to search for and recover the 18,000 people still missing and now presumed dead three weeks after the 9.0 magnitude earthquake triggered a killer tsunami. A total of 27,500 people were either killed or are still missing.

U.S. forces, Japan’s Self Defense force, Japanese police and coast guards on Friday launched a three day operation involving 120 aircraft and 65 vessels over three northern Japanese prefectures. Japanese broadcaster NTV said the Japanese Coast Guard had been hoping the dog would lead them to the pet’s owner.

Once captured, the dog captured the hearts of the coast guard when it licked its rescuer’s hands.

The coast guard could only speculate who the dog belonged to – it could not find a name tag or ID on the collar.

And while it was shaken by the experience, the dog seemed to quickly get used to its new home on the coast guard vessel.

Lessons in Loyalty: Japanese Dog Refuses to Leave Injured Friend Behind After Surviving Tsunami (Video)

 

A Japanese dog has shown remarkable loyalty by staying by the side of a fellow pet injured in Friday’s devastating earthquake and tsunami.  (Scroll to bottom for link to video.)

One of the latest news clips to emerge from Japan offers a moving example of ultimate dog loyalty, and clearly illustrates the challenges faced by animal victims of the earthquake and tsunami.

Emotional video of a faithful dog standing guard over his injured pal after they survived the tsunami in Japan shows firsthand the struggles animal rescue groups will face in the coming weeks to save the lives of pets that are now alone and frightened. 

The clip was filmed by a crew from Fuji Television and is narrated in Japanese, no translation is needed to understand the heartbreak the dogs are experiencing.   A TV crew from Japanese network Fuji Television filmed the animal keeping watch beside the wounded dog.

UPDATE:

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:16 PM on 17th March 2011

Amid the terror of imminent possible nuclear disaster and the human death toll of the Japanese earthquake a loyal dog refuses to leave its best friend.

Japanese news reports say the two animals were caught in the tsunami and magnitude nine quake on Friday.

While one dog somehow survived unscathed, the other appeared to have been killed when the monster wave swept through the Arahama area in Sendai – only for rescuers to find he had miraculously survived the disaster.

Loyal to the end: A dog remains at the side of his wounded friend in the wake of the tsunami – miraculously, both survived

As this heartbreaking footage shows the brown and white coloured spaniel-cross refused to leave the side of his seemingly dead canine companion – even stopping rescuers from getting close.

But then as the crew filmed the scene, believing only one dog has survived, they suddenly noticed the head of the other dog move and rejoiced, shouting: ‘Yes! Yes! He is alive.’

 Luckily a combined effort by Japanese news channel reporters and rescuers has now meant the loyal dog and his friend have been rescued since the footage was shot earlier this week.

An emotional English transcript has now been released of the moment the rescue began.

A reporter speaks to camera: ‘We are in Arahama area.  Looks like there is a dog. There is a dog. He looks tired and dirty. He must have been caught in the tsunami. He looks very dirty.

‘He has a collar. He must be someone’s pet. He has a silver collar. He is shaking. He seems very afraid.

‘Oh, there is another dog. I wonder if he is dead.’

Another person off camera asks: ‘Where?’

The reporter continues: ‘Right there. There is another dog right next to the one sitting down. He is not moving. I wonder. I wonder if he is alright.’

The voice off-camera says: ‘The dog is protecting him,’ with the reporter replying: ‘Yes. He is protecting the dog. That is why he did not want us to approach them. He was trying to keep us at bay.

‘I can’t watch this. This is very difficult to watch. Oh. Look. He is moving. He is alive. I am so happy to see that he is alive.

‘Yes! Yes! He is alive.

‘He looks to be weakened. We need them to be rescued soon. We really want them rescued soon.

‘Oh good.  He’s getting up. It is amazing how they survived the tremendous earthquake and tsunami. It’s just amazing that they survived through this all.’ 

Both dogs have now been rescued, according to a Facebook post by Kenn Sakurai, president of a dog and cat food firm which aids animal rescue operations.

‘The one which came close to the camera is in the better condition,’ he explained.

‘The other white, gray and black was weak. So it is in the vet clinic in Ibaraki Prefectre. The other dog is in the shelter of the same area.

‘But please know that those two are just the tip of the iceberg. There are more and we need help.’

The crew mistakenly believed the dog was warning them to stay away but was instead more likely to be seeking help for his friend.

The station has now been flooded by calls from people looking to rescue the animals.

UPDATE:  The two dogs were rescued. Kenn Sakurai, the president of a Japanese pet food company who is helping with the rescue of animals, reports on Facebook that the two dogs have been rescued.

“We have these dogs.  Both dogs brought to Mito, Ibaraki. One is staying at the vet clinic and the brown and white one is at the shelter,” he wrote.

Watch on YouTube.com   http://bit.ly/iicGW4