’ . . . Clancy’s a Loser Who’s a Winner’ : Ugly? He Takes Title Paws Down

Clancy is an unusual dog.

For one thing, he’s so ugly, he’s cute. Part basset hound, part springer spaniel, Clancy has stubby legs and front paws that point out at 80-degree angles--like a ballet dancer’s feet.

“He recently won the title of the ugliest dog in the county, and that won $200 for the Animal Assistance League,” said Lydia Yancey, a league worker. “So Clancy’s a loser who’s a winner. He may be ugly, but he’s got a wonderful personality.”

Yancey said she rescued the dog she dubbed Clancy from a pound in mid-April. She’s been trying to find a permanent home for him for the past two months. But he is so photogenic--ugly mug and all--that the Garden Grove woman now wonders if the Animal Assistance League may not have found a new Spuds McKenzie, of sorts, right here in Orange County.

Canines vying for the Ugliest Dog in Orange County title last month competed by having their owners send in photographs to the radio station sponsoring the contest. Yancey mailed in a humorous photo of Clancy in his natural ballet stance, posed by a collection of ballet slippers. Judges obviously liked the photograph, because Clancy won the title.

“Maybe I should get him an agent,” joked Yancey as she showed off Clancy. “But what I really want is a nice home for Clancy. I want to find some people who will take him for what he is and will love him.”

Actually, Clancy is easy to love. The dog, thought to be about 2 years old, is a friendly animal with sorrowful eyes--from his basset hound genes--and curly white, brown and black hair--from his springer spaniel genes.

But he looks, well, improbable. One gets the impression that he’s a mixed-up collage of animal parts that really don’t go together.

“He has a nice head,” said Gabrielle Vandenbosh, a league worker. “But the head doesn’t seem to go with the body.”

Indeed, Clancy’s big head and floppy black ears seem very out of proportion to his low-slung body and stubby front legs. When he walks, he looks like a canine version of a low-rider automobile.

And walking is no easy chore for Clancy because of his angled front paws. “He gets tired if he walks more than a block or so,” Yancey said. “He likes to rest a lot.”

Clancy first came to Yancey’s attention on April 10 as the dog took a snooze on a sidewalk near 5th and Fairview streets in Santa Ana. Yancey thought the dog had been hurt and was lying awkwardly because of an injury. She later learned that Clancy--a blissful couch potato--just happens to sleep flopped partly on one side.

“I was on my way to rescue a cat that day, but I was very worried about the dog, and I called people to come get him,” she said. “He was picked up by animal control and taken to the pound. I then canvassed the neighborhood looking for his owners, and I advertised and contacted the school nearby.”

No one claimed the dog.

“Since he was scheduled to be put to sleep by the pound after 72 hours, I bought him out and took him here to the Animal Assistance League kennel in Midway City,” Yancey said.

The league, a nonprofit volunteer organization, has its kennel at 15101 Jackson St., near Beach Boulevard and Bolsa Avenue. Dogs and cats kept at the kennel are sort of hard-luck cases, Vandenbosh said.

“We try to find homes for special dogs, such as Angel here, this poor female dog who is almost blind and who was found starving to death in Modjeska Canyon,” she said.

Visitors can see dogs and cats up for adoption at the Animal Assistance League kennel any day, including weekends, from 10 a.m. to noon and 4 to 6 p.m., Vandenbosh said.

Some prospective pet owners have looked at Clancy over the past two months, but they bypassed him in favor of dogs with more eye-appeal. Yancey said it’s unfortunate that people don’t see the real animal under the homely exterior.

“He’s a gentle, good dog, and the vet says he would be a wonderful pet for an older couple--because Clancy likes to rest a lot,” she said.

People interested in adopting Clancy--or any other dog or cat--can call Vandenbosh at (714) 964-7471 or Pat Malberg, another league volunteer, at (714) 990-5804.

“I’d keep him myself, but I have a big dog who’s very jealous of other dogs,” Yancey said. “But I’ll miss Clancy. He’s a mellow fellow.

“And you know what? He would really make a good ad for selling ballet shoes.”