The World’s Ugliest Dog has died

She was ugly. Man, was she ugly. Yoda had a face only an adopted mother — and a panel of judges — could love.

With patches of wild, coarse fur, oversized ears, and a permanently stuck-out tongue, the lovably disheveled Yoda won over judges for the 23rd annual World’s Ugliest Dog contest at last year’s Sonoma-Marin Fair.

Last weekend, at her home in the Central Valley, Yoda’s owner found the 15-year-old Chihuahua-Chinese crested mix dead of natural causes.

Owner Terry Schumacher shared the bad news this weekend via e-mail:

“Say a prayer today 4 my YODA… She passed away last night in her sleep. I will miss her funny little ways! Her memories will live on forever!!!”

Yoda took home a $1,000 prize at the 2011 Sonoma-Marin Fair, appeared on CNN, ABC, and got a makeover courtesy of the Jimmy Kimmel show.

All the attention hopefully made Yoda happy in her final years to make up for a difficult start in life. Yoda’s owner Schumacher first adopted her after mistaking her for a rat crawling behind an apartment building.