Local celebrity canine Quasi Modo, who earned the 2015 title of the “World’s Ugliest Dog,” and then went on to guest on a spate of talk shows that would be the envy of many looking for publicity, passed away at her home in Loxahatchee Groves on July 11, reported Mike Carroll. For14 years, Quasi Modo was the beloved dog of Carroll and his wife, veterinarian Dr. Ginnie Sayre.
“She was born with short spine syndrome and adopted from Animal Care & Control,” Carroll said. “She lived a full, active and exciting life at the G&M Ranch.”
Carroll added that Quasi always had a meet-and-greet role for all of the many festivities at the ranch. There were several yearly visits from homeschool classes, foreign exchange student groups and the many military organizations that held welcome home or reunion events. She was also the official mascot for Project 425, the group that brings a restored Vietnam Huey helicopter and other military hardware to local events.
“She lived to an old age,” Sayre told the Town-Crier. “She died of old age and respiratory failure.”
Sayre said the dog was a mixed pit bull who lived pretty long for that type of dog. Despite Quasi’s appearance, she had a mild temperament. “She loved everybody,” Sayre said.
From the most-humble of beginnings as a shelter dog adopted by Sayre, Quasi’s accomplishments gave them more than 15-minutes’ worth of fame. She was runner up in the 2014 World’s Ugliest Dog Contest but became a crowd favorite, winning the crown, so to speak, in 2015. It is not actually a crown or a garland of roses — it’s a six-foot trophy.
The World’s Ugliest Dog contest takes place annually in Petaluma, Calif., as part of the Sonoma-Marin Fair. Few winners developed the following that Quasi did during her tenure.
In 2017, the couple commissioned Todd Frahm of Stone Cloud Studio in Asheville, N.C., to spend five days at their ranch sculpting a life-size clay model of Quasi’s unique physique. From these, he fabricated 80-pound bronze statues.
“Today, the bronzes are in our living room next to the fireplace,” Sayre said.
With personal TV appearances, seated atop her personal, little security blanket, Quasi met everyone from Jimmy Kimmel to Fox & Friends. While there are no small roles, only small actors, this diminutive diva even had a brief but pivotal role in a locally made movie called Encounter The Movie. She was also given the key to the Town of Loxahatchee Groves for representing the community so well, which didn’t raise an eyebrow at the time.
Carroll said Quasi was preceded in death by her best dog friend Double Clutch, just four weeks before her own demise, but leaves a bloodhound rescue Jessie May and a new redbone puppy Triple Clutch, and many other animals at the ranch. “We will all miss her forever!” he said.
In lieu of flowers, Carroll and Sayre ask that people donate to and become active in their local animal shelters and rescues.
