A celebrity pooch named Sam has died.

With a hairless body, crooked teeth and a tiny tuft of hair on his knobby head, Sam was billed as the ugliest dog in the world. Complete with ugly photo.

Owner Susie Lockheed said he died Friday, just short of his 15th birthday.



Sam, who had his own Web site at SamUgliestDog.com, first captured ugliest-dog honors at a California fair in 2003 and had won the contest both years since.



He was a purebred Chinese crested hairless and his looks made him an international celebrity. He made the British tabloids and was on TV in Japan. And, somehow or other, Sam was even on the radio in New Zealand.



He also once compared hair with the famously coifed Donald Trump.



On top of that, there were Sam T-shirts, calendars and coffee mugs. And he had three doggie pals: TatorTot, TinkerBell and PixieNoodle.



More here.