Janeda Banelly was looking to adopt a dog from a local animal shelter in Arizona, which is when she discovered Mr. Happy Face. The shelter warned her:
“..[he] could be inbred because he was so ugly.”
However, that didn't stop Banelly from adopting the (then) 17 year old dog. Banelly states:
“When I first met him, he was the happiest creature that I had ever met. He hobbled up to me and chose me. I vowed that day, he would be so loved that he would never remember how awful his previous life had been.”
Mr. Happy Face was adopted in August of last year because Banelly believed he “needed a second chance and deserved to be loved.” She says his hobbies include:
“being fearlessly adorable... invoking his elder privilege over other pets... and eating stinky things.”
And just this past weekend, Banelly entered Mr. Happy Face into the annual "World's Ugliest Dog" competition at the Sonoma County Fair in Petaluma (CA). Mr. Happy Face won first place.