The official website for the tournament states that it “celebrates the defects that make all dogs unique and wonderful.” The event takes place at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds and Event Center in Petaluma, California. A significant number of the competitors, including Mr. Happy Face, were rescued animals.

The artist Jeneda Benally and her cherished senior dog were awarded $1,500 and a trip to New York City to appear on the Today Show. Wild Thang, a Pekingese, was awarded the title of second place and took home the prize for his accomplishment.

During the month of August in 2021, the hairless Chinese crested-Chihuahua mix was rescued from a refuge in Arizona. It was explained to Benally that he was a “old dog” and that it was unlikely he would survive for more than a month. Many people were discouraged from adopting the gorgeous puppy since they would have to take medications for the rest of their lives to manage various tumors and issues.

” At the time that I first saw him, he was the happiest animal that I had ever had the opportunity to interact with. Benally said with the Today program that “He limped up to me and picked me.” “I told him on that day that he would be so adored that he would never ever recall how terrible his prior life had truly been.”

The joyful mother dog believes that telling people about her elderly rescue would encourage others to look beyond their age or physical limitations.

Benally is quoted as saying, “I feel that this modest spirit is similarly providing an example, in refined ways, to help others understand that even senior dogs need love and a family too,” and this is something that Benally believes to be true. “Love, generosity, and mother kisses have really helped him defy the predicted short life that we all expected him to live with our family,” the author writes. “[T]hey have genuinely benefitted him.”

When Mr. Happy Face is finished making his appearances in the media, he will go back to doing what he does best, which includes having fun with his siblings who have four legs, eating things that smell bad, spending quality time with his mother, and making the most of each and every day.