Zsa Zsa

Zsa Zsa, the lovable English bulldog who was named the World’s Ugliest Dog last month, has died at 9 years old. She died in her sleep early Tuesday morning.

With her floppy tongue, crooked teeth and pink manicure, Zsa Zsa captured the hearts of the judges at the annual contest at the Sonoma-Marin County Fair in Petaluma, California.

Zsa Zsa seemed to relish the victory. “She knew she was special. She never really showed much excitement but yes, she was definitely living it up after she won.”

Zsa Zsa’s hanging tongue came from a pronounced underbite and crooked upper teeth that made it hard to keep her tongue in her mouth. Even with her offbeat looks, Zsa Zsa, like her Hollywood namesake, became accustomed to having her photograph taken.

“We take millions of pictures in my family, so now we have her face everywhere to remind us of her.”

Zsa Zsa had a rough early life, spending five years in a puppy mill in Missouri before being saved by the nonprofit Underdog Rescue. We then became Zsa Zsa’s owner after coming across her on PetFinder.com.

We drove 30 hours from our home in Anoka, Minnesota, to bring Zsa Zsa to the World’s Ugliest Dog competition, which came with a $1,500 prize and a big trophy for first place.

Zsa Zsa beat out a terrier named Scamp and its scraggly dreadlocks and questionable odor to take home the title.

The contest is all in fun to raise awareness of adoption and show that all dogs are worthy of love, not just the good-looking ones.

All dogs go to heaven, no matter what they look like. Rest in peace, Zsa Zsa!