Eric Bryant smiled as he slid on his new T-shirt, which read, “I’m the proud owner of the 2nd ugliest dog in Middle Georgia.”

“I’m proud of him,” he said of his dog, Pugsly. “He’s 15 years old and he’s been a good dog.”

Bryant bent down to pose for pictures with the bulldog-pug mix.

The resemblance between owner and dog was noticeable, according to judges who earlier had awarded Bryant and Pugsly first place in the look-alike contest.

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” Bryant said laughing. “I’m not mad that I didn’t win first.”

The second-place finish won him $100, which Bryant said he probably would use to buy snacks and new toys for Pugsly.

“This is our biggest fundraiser of the year,” said Donna Connaway, a member of the Heart of Georgia Humane Society board of directors.

The Ugliest Dog contest was part of the organization’s seventh annual Paws in the Park event Saturday in Central City Park.

The event featured several contests, as well as dog nail painting, baked goods, barbecue and a rabies clinic. A few dogs up for adoption were also at the event.

The proceeds go to the organization, with some money reserved for its spay and neuter program.

The biggest draw and the final event of the day, however, was the ugly dog contest.

Pet owners and family members joked had some fun with the event with the results even settling a minor family disagreement.

“I told you she wouldn’t win,” Joy Fowler said holding Flossie Mabeline Fowler, a Chinese crested, as she smoothed down a puff of hair on the mostly hairless dog. “She’s beautiful.”

“She didn’t win, so I guess that proves that she’s not ugly. We’ve already been chastised for it,” said Fowler’s sister Gail Hardison, who found out about the contest on Facebook and told Fowler that Flossie would be a shoo-in.

“I told her you might be mad at me for saying this, but also you might win $250,” Hardison said with a laugh.

There was a $20 entry fee for the contest.

“I think she’s adorable. She’s just unusual,” Flower said.

The $250 first prize went to Smokey, an Italian greyhound, and his 99-year-old owner Charita Helton of Milledgeville.

“I think he’s cute,” said Helton’s granddaughter Edna Mills. “He’s just had a rough life.”

Smokey is a rescue dog from Ohio. His former owner had cancer, so the three dogs needed to find new homes.

When Helton got the small dog a year-and-a-half ago, Smokey had a massive mouth infection, so all of his teeth had to be pulled.

“He’s been through so much. I almost feel bad,” Mills said after the winners were announced. “Obviously we don’t think any dog is ugly.”

When it was time for judging, Smokey put on his best face, letting his long, thin tongue hang limp out the side of his toothless mouth.

It was that mouth and jagged bottom jaw that earned him the title of ugliest dog, judges said.

Bruno, an 8-month-old pit bull, won third place.

“He’s actually really cute, but he’s got his competition,” said Corey Ashley, of Milledgeville, looking around at some of the other dogs before the contest.

“We’re gonna go to the doggie dentist (with the $50 prize money),” he said. “He’s got some teeth issues.”

Dog-lovers also participated in “Dancing with the Dogs,” a play on the television show “Dancing With the Stars.”

Some dogs stood tall on their hind legs to slow-dance with their owners, while others bounced in their owners’ arms and pranced around on leashes wagging their tails to the music.

“We have a lot of fun doing this,” Connaway said of the day’s event. “And this way we get to have sort of a reunion with some of the dogs who have been adopted over the years.”

To contact writer Caryn Grant, call 744-4347.