Peggy, the dog who shot to fame after winning a photography contest for ugly dogs, is one of the stars of the new Marvel mutant movie Deadpool & Wolverine.
Last year we reported on the UK's Ugliest Dog photo competition run by Parrot Print. This week, Peggy – a four-year-old Pug Chinese Crested Mix from East Yorkshire, England – walked the red carpet with stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman ahead of the movie's opening on July 26.
"A few years ago I was at the shelter wondering what I was going to do with my life," reads a post on Peggy's official 'Dogpool' Instagram account.
"Now I'm in the biggest movie of the summer. Goes to show when you put in the work, you can manifest anything. From shelter dog to Shatterstar!" (For the non-comic book geeks, Shatterstar is a fellow mutant in the Marveldom.)
Being named Britain's ugliest dog led to Peggy being cast as a sidekick for Deadpool, an offbeat superhero played by Reynolds in the blockbuster Marvel franchise. Prior to coming to fame, though, her looks made her the last to be adopted from the dog shelter.
"We came across Peggy online at the end of 2018, she was six months old and the last remaining pup of an accidental litter," her owner, Holly Middleton, told Parrot Print.
"All the other pups had new homes but I imagine people looking at her saw nothing but a high-maintenance dog and the possibility of health issues… I just felt sorry for her, sat there with no hair and her tongue out. She was six months old so I just felt like no one wanted her.
"Luckily Peggy is a completely healthy and happy dog, her tongue doesn’t cause her any issues, she can eat (and she really does love to eat) and drink with no problems, and other than having to wear jumpers for warmth in colder weather and sun cream in the summer she's exactly the same as any other dog."
ABOVE: Watch the latest Deadpool & Wolverine teaser
While it's a literal underdog story, even more important than Peggy's rags-to-riches tale is the message that all animals deserve – and can find – a loving home.
"We loved her the Instant we laid eyes on her with her big brown eyes, little tuft of white hair and her tongue lolling out to one side," says Middleton. "I hope it encourages people to overlook the little oddities of those dogs left on the shelf.
"Even though some people find Peggy's unusual appearance strange, and in rare cases off-putting and despite Peggy winning the Ugliest Dog in the UK title, we think she is beautiful both inside and out, and wouldn't change her for the world."
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