BY ADAM NIR
How can a dog that finished as runner-up in the “World’s Ugliest Dog” contest be considered cute? Quasi Modo — called Quasi by his owners, Mike Carroll and Ginnie Sayre — is just such a pup.
“She was turned in to the local animal shelter where I work,” recalled Sayre, a veterinarian. “As soon as I saw her, I knew I had to have her because she’s so different from any other dog.”
Quasi, an 8-year-old of unknown breed, lives at G&M Ranch in Loxahatchee Groves. She’s back at home now after a second-place finish at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma, Calif., last month.
Carroll and Sayre were quick to adopt Quasi, even though she didn’t look like the typical dog. Quasi was born missing a few vertebrae in her spine, yet while the spinal defect makes her look much shorter than the average dog, it does not seem to affect her life.
“She runs, jumps, plays,” Sayre said. “She doesn’t know what all the fuss is about.”
While many animal lovers instantly become friends with Quasi, others have had odd reactions upon meeting her.
“A lot of people don’t think she’s a dog,” Sayre said. “I’ve had people scream and run. I’ve had men jump on top of their cars. Some people ask, ‘Is that a hyena?’”
It was those responses that prompted Carroll and Sayre to enter her into the competition.
The trio initially flew out to Las Vegas, but not for the competition.
“After 22 years, we decided to get married,” Carroll said. “What better place to get married than Las Vegas?”
“Quasi was the big reason we went out there,” Sayre said. “She was the reason we got married.”
They then drove to the competition in Sonoma County, Calif., and Quasi became an instant hit with the voters. Her support propelled her into second place, but she eventually fell to Peanut, an ugly canine from Greenville, N.C., the winner of the contest.
Carroll and Sayre aren’t upset that Quasi finished in second place.
“I don’t think she’s ugly,” Sayre said. “You have to have a sense of humor to go to that kind of contest. There were people there who go every year. It’s like a hobby for them. We just went for the fun of it.”
Even though she was entered in the competition for fun, you may see Quasi in the competition again next year. “We might go back again,” Sayre said. “It was a long trip because of having to go through Las Vegas first, but if we fly straight out to California, it won’t be so stressful.”
For more information about the contest, and to check out the other contestants, visit www.sonoma-marinfair.org/ugly-dog-gallery.
ABOVE: Quasi Moto, at home in Loxahatchee Groves.
