Peanut, a two-year-old dog thought to be a Chihuahua-Shitzu mix, triumphed over a host of hairless, hunchbacked rivals and won the World’s Ugliest Dog prize.

Peanut has been crowned the World’s Ugliest Dog at a contest for freakish-looking pets in California.

He beat contenders with hunched backs and patchy coats to take the top prize at the annual gathering of the least pulchritudinous pooches on the planet.

Peanut has been crowned the World’s Ugliest Dog at a contest for freakish-looking pets in California (photo AP)

Owners and judges agreed that Peanut’s wild white and brown hair, bulging eyes and protruding teeth belied a sweet and energetic personality.

Peanut’s owner, Holly Chandler, of Greenville, North Carolina, said he was seriously burned as a puppy and she wanted to use her pet to raise awareness about animal abuse.

Holly Chandler planned to use the $1,500 prize to pay for other animals’ veterinary bills.

The contest, held at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, California, is in its 26th year.

The dogs are scored by a three-judge panel in several categories, including special or unusual attributes, personality and natural ugliness.

Winners in recent years have included a duckfooted beagle, boxer and basset hound mix with a waddle, a Chinese Crested and Chihuahua mix with a protruding tongue and short tufts of hair and a Chihuahua with a missing eye and a camel’s back.

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