Rascal is one ugly dog! And he knows it. In fact, Rascal is so ugly that he has been voted as the World’s Ugliest Dog numerous times.

Rascal is a purebred Chinese Crested dog who weighs a healthy 7 pounds. He is a rescue dog that is the descendent of Chi Chi, a world famous dog that was voted as “The World’s Ugliest Dog” 8 times and was also included in the Guinness Book of World Records. He is owned by Dane Andrew of Sunnyvale, California.

“He’s the fourth in a dynasty. No other dog has ever won so many ugly dog contests”, said Dane.

Rascal’s mother, grandmother, and grandfather have each held the title of “The World’s Ugliest Dog”. In fact, Chi Chi, Rascal’s grandfather was in the Guinness Book of World Records for winning 8 international ugly dog competitions. Rascal has since kept his family tradition going strong.

He has received 2 mayoral proclamations, including one from San Francisco’s Mayor, Gavin Newsom. Rascal was also dubbed the official Fire Dog of Station in Newark. He also received an honorary doctorate in Animal Magnetism from San Francisco State University.

Since Rascal is a pure breed, he is naturally and entirely hairless all over his body, with the only exceptions being for his feet, tail and his ‘mohawk’. Add to his hairless body, his warts and freckles, and the fact that he does not have many teeth, which means he is not able to keep his tongue in his mouth, and it is easy to see why Rascal was voted as the World’s Ugliest Dog!

Rascal has become a household name amongst celebrities and even has a following of dog-loving fans. He has been cast in four different horror movies: “Tele-Zombie”; “The Last Nightmare”; “Curse of the Smoke O’ Lantern”; and “Scanky Doo”. He has also had a cameo role in “Carma”, starring alongside Oscar-nominee, Karen Black. The Internet Movie Database even has Rascal listed as an official actor.

Dane has explained that: “People are calling him a ‘space alien’, ‘Einstein’, ‘Phyllis Diller’, ‘Bat Dog’ or ‘Hairless Potter’ but to us he is our loving little family member.”

Not only does Rascal star on the big screen, he has also been on a variety of television shows as well. Jay Leno invited Rascal to his Tonight Show on NBC before he won his first title in 2002. It was the same show that also had Donald Trump appear as well. It is rumored that Donald popped into the Green Room to pet Rascal before leaving the NBC studios.

“He looked at the dog and let out this big smile,” Dane exclaimed. “You usually don’t see Trump smile but Rascal does that with people. Even people like Donald Trump.”

Other television shows that Rascal has appeared on include ‘The View’, ‘The Jane Pauley Show’, ‘The Carson Daly Show’, three ‘Animal Planet’ shows and has also made Kathy Griffin’s D-List.

Dane remembers a time when he and Rascal attended a recent film festival. At the event there was a table where three men and three women were seated. However, as soon as the women saw Rascal enter the room, they immediately sprung up from the table to see and hold him.

“The men seemed put out that their dates had left them for Rascal,” Dane said. “He has this affect on woman. They love him.”

Most people are able to look past his ‘ugliness’ to see Rascal’s true charm and character.

“To me, he’s a beautiful dog, and those who know him kind of think so too after meeting him,” said Dane.

Rascal is probably the only celebrity dog that has his very own cartoon strip! There is even a documentary film that is currently in production. Both the cartoon strip and the documentary are being called “The Ugliest Dog.”

Dane is a professional actor and photographer and although he does not make any profit from Rascal’s ugly looks, he is able to help Rascal gain a lot of exposure due to the movie and television producers and directors that he knows.

Rascal sports a leash that Dane made and had patented. Dane is now hoping to mass produce the ‘hotdog’ leash and sell them. He is planning on donating a portion of all sales of the leash to animal rescue groups.

Rascal not only wears the leash that Dane made him, he also wears an array of sweaters and jackets too.

Although they live in Sunnyvale, Dane and Rascal spend their summers in Tahoe. Dane explains why: “It gets pretty cold for him when he’s here in the winter”.

Rascal is much loved by Dane: “This dog will always get the best because he deserves the best.”

Photo Credit: EReleases.com