Meet Peanut, the Ugliest Dog in the World

He’s got a face only a mother could love: Peanut, a rescue dog with unknown breed origins, was crowned the World’s Ugliest Dog at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif., earlier this week.

The dog’s owner, Holly Chandler of Greenville, N.C., says 2-year-old Peanut is a victim of animal abuse and was injured in a fire, though he’s healthy now, CBS reports.

“He doesn’t have lips anymore,” Chandler says. “His eyelids are also gone, and so he can’t close his eyes, so therefore his eyes water. The tears drain into his nose and so he has nice little snot bubbles because of it. So it’s great, that adds to his character.”

Chandler plans to use the $1,500 prize money to help pay for other pets’ veterinary bills and hopes Peanut’s big win will call attention to animal abuse, the Associated Press reports.

“He’s my baby,” she said. “I guess I don’t see him every day as being that ugly. But I guess the judges thought so.”

[CBS]

Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com.