Netflix’s ’Pet Stars’ features ’World’s Ugliest Dog Contest’ in Petaluma

Likely the only event in the world that celebrates drool and snaggle teeth, the “World’s Ugliest Dog Contest” held at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma already draws plenty of attention.

Now, it’s being featured on Netflix’s new show “Pet Stars,” which documents two animal talent agents traveling the country in search of new four-legged social media stars.

In the first episode of “Pet Stars,” hosts Colleen Wilson and Melissa May Curtis travel to Petaluma in search of the best of the worst.

“The winner of the Ugliest Dog Contest doesn’t just get a cash prize. They get thrown all over social media,” Wilson says in the first episode of the series.

“They basically get the whole world looking at them in that moment. It’s amazing. And in that spotlight, that creates opportunity,” Curtis added.

Wilson and Curtis, who run animal media company Pets on Q, meet many owners of ugly dogs which come from all corners of the world to participate in the contest.

Their clients are featured in marketing campaigns, movies, TV shows and more.

The World’s Ugliest Dog Contest has been a local tradition for three decades.

It was started to spread the message that every dog deserves a loving home. The contest also advocates for adoption practices and supports animal rescue organizations.

The contest’s most recent winner, Scamp the Tramp and his owner, won a trip to New York to appear on the “Today” show as well as $1,500 cash, plus an additional $1,500 to donate to an animal shelter in 2019. The 2020 fair was canceled.

Though it is canceled again this summer, the Sonoma-Marin Fair is hoping to hold the contest in the fall. "Until then, we continue to encourage fans to adopt and support the animal rescue organization of their choice,“ the fair website says.

See the show’s trailer here: