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In 2010 there weren't a lot of famous dog pages, and Cuda's popularity began to take off. Soon, she was being featured on pages like PeoplePets and in print through American Dog Magazine. Perhaps they were just as apprehensive as I was about her future.īased on my experience with breeders in the neighborhoods I worked in, and the fact that Cuda's original owners got her from a backyard breeder, I touted Cuda as inbred on her page. Perhaps they realized Cuda did not look like other dogs and changed their minds.
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They paid $50 for her but only had her two weeks. The couple who gave Cuda to me even found her page and contacted me to tell me they found her on Craigslist through an advertisement for pit bull puppies being sold out of a guy's house. I felt their reckless breeding practices included inbreeding dogs who were closely related. When I was an animal control officer, I noted that breeders lived next door to one another and often had dogs who were related to each other. I believed Cuda was inbred and that her poor genetics contributed to her odd looks. I created a Facebook page for her and began campaigning. I wanted to see the reaction of others to Cuda and while we knew she was so cute, we felt she had a chance at winning. Abby was presented as an inbred dog due to her curved spine and I thought, "I can top that!" We jokingly decided to put Cuda into the 2011 contest because her looks were so unique. As she grew, she gained more mobility, and soon she was playing with our other dogs and cats so normally we didn't even see her as different anymore.Ī couple of months later we were watching the World's Ugliest Dog Contest winner on TV. Relieved she was not in any pain, I took her home and life with Cuda officially began. Still, he had no idea why her appearance was so unusual. The vet initially thought Cuda had a neurological issue, but upon examination, he declared her healthy. The very first picture of Cuda I took and the one that put me into a text war with my husband over me bringing her home. He (reasonably) replied that we already had four dogs at home but I kept texting back that he didn't understand. Although I had no idea what I was going to do with this puppy, I texted my husband asking him if I could take her home. I knew if I brought her back to the shelter, the staff veterinarian would assume she was unhealthy and would euthanize her. My worries were taken over by a fierce urge that I had to protect this dog. The couple pressed on about how they had to leave town immediately as they were having trouble with people in the neighborhood. As I pondered taking her home, I was taken over by negative thoughts such as, "Will she live?", "What's wrong with her?" and "What kind of vet care will she need and how will I afford it?" They only told me they named her Cuda because her underbite reminded them of a barracuda. They didn't acknowledge Cuda's weird looks. There was an awkward silence between me and the couple. She had a squished body and a huge jaw with a serious underbite, and appeared to be a mix between a gargoyle and a pig. She was like no other dog I had ever seen. I agreed and out came Cuda on a leash made of twine.Īs I looked her over, I was dumbfounded. While I waited for the owner of the loose dog to come home, the couple who initiated the complaint told me they had just gotten a pit bull puppy but couldn't keep her. In 2010, I was working as an animal control officer and found myself in the middle of a dispute with neighbors over their loose dogs. Every once in awhile you come across something so special, you can't even wrap your head around it.