A pug with a pearl necklace sticks its tongue out while lounging on a gray leather couch.
Jinny Lu, 2026 World’s Ugliest Dog contest winner, at home in the Pug Hotel rescue in Ukiah, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. Jinny Lu returned from New York after taping a segment in the Today show. (Roger Coryell/Bay City News)

FORT BRAGG, CA., 10/21/26 – Jinny Lu, the Ukiah rescue pug who won the 2026 World’s Ugliest Dog Contest, will make a special appearance at Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens this Friday.

The 6-year-old pug has become a paw-pular celebrity since being named the World’s Ugliest Dog on Aug. 14 at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, a year after finishing second in the same contest. She then spent a whirlwind weekend in New York City, where her floppy tongue, pearl necklace and big personality made a national television appearance on NBC’s TODAY show.

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