Zsa Zsa, who was crowed the World's Ugliest Dog Contest winner last month, has died at 9 years old, the NBC's "Today" show said.
Owner Megan Brainard, of Anoka, Minnesota, told "Today" that her English bulldog with the long, drooling pink tongue and crooked teeth, died in her sleep Tuesday morning, calling the news "devastating."
"She's been staying over at my dad's house," Brainard told "Today." "He woke up this morning and found her passed away. … I'm still in shock ... It's kind of like when she won (the World's Ugliest Dog Contest). It's been two weeks and I still don't believe it. It's probably going to be the same with her passing."
The St. Paul Pioneer Press wrote that Zsa Zsa walked away with the $1,500 top prize at the World's Ugliest Dog Contest on June 23 at the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds in Petaluma, California.
During the annual nationwide dog contest, the dogs celebrate their imperfections instead of hiding them, the Pioneer Press wrote. The dogs and their handlers walk down a red carpet and are evaluated by a panel of judges.
"Nine years young with a swaggering tongue, Zsa Zsa delivered a shower of slobber as she claimed this year's title," said a news release announcing Zsa Zsa's win last month, according to CNN.
Brainard said once Zsa Zsa was returned home Tuesday, their family – including husband Jesse and daughter Mareslie, 15 – said their goodbyes.
"I picked Zsa Zsa up and took her outside and laid her down in the grass," Brainard told "Today." "We were all saying our goodbyes and Mareslie went right over and gave her a kiss. It was sweet. She was waving at her."
Zsa Zsa's signature long tongue, according to "Today" came from a pronounced underbite and crooked upper teeth that made it hard to keep her tongue in her mouth. Even with her unusual looks, Zsa Zsa, like her Hollywood namesake Zsa Zsa Gabor, appeared to relish taking pictures, Brainard said, according to the morning.
"We take millions of pictures in my family, so now we have her face everywhere to remind us of her," she said to "Today."
Brainard found Zsa Zsa on PetFinder.com after she was rescued from a puppy mill by the nonprofit Underdog Rescue, "Today" reported.
Many said their goodbyes to Zsa Zsa on social media.
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