Police in Cambridgeshire are appealing for information after shaken Mugly - who won infamy when he was crowned Britain's Ugliest Dog in 2005 - was apparently set upon by a gang of vicious youths.
The hideous prize-winning pooch, a Shitzu-Chinese Crested cross, was rescued by a passer-by who saw off the thugs that were picking on the defenceless dog.
They were allegedly seen hitting him with a stick and kicking and punching him.
The local lady recognised the practically hairless cat-sized dog from missing posters that owner Bev Nicholson, 46, had put up in the Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, neighbourhood. He had escaped from a ground-floor window at home on Thursday and was missing for the day.
'They had pulled out a little tuft of hair he had on his neck,' said Bev. 'It was the only hair he had and they even managed to take off one of his eyebrows. I can't even work out how they would have done that.
It's not like people carry scissors or a shaver around with them.' And mum-of-four Bev, a support worker for dwarf actors, reckons the youngsters may have carried out the beating because they didn't realise what Mugly was.
'I was worried sick about him,' said Bev. 'He'd never gone missing before and you worry about letting him out because of what he looks like and the fact he's so friendly.
'You just can't think why these people would do such a horrible thing. Part of me thinks they might not have even realised that he was a dog because of him having no hair so they just bullied him.
'It's horrible because he loves people so much he probably thought it was just a game and all they were interested in was hurting him.
'He was really shaken and cowered in to me when he got back to me. He was swollen and bruised around his face and rear end.' Worried Bev took her beloved six-year-old mutt to Broadway Veterinary Hospital where he had a check-up.
Vet Adela Navarro said: 'He had a few cuts and was bruised and a little shaken up. We asked the owner to keep an eye on his stools for internal bleeding as a precaution.'
Distraught Bev's main worry when the pooch was missing was the fact that he wouldn't have been getting special care for his unusual needs.
She said: 'Because he's bald I have to put factor 50 sun-tan lotion on him so he doesn't burn. And because his lower teeth jut out he has to have his food in small pieces. He can't chew properly so you have to break it down for him.
'My main worry was that anyone who found him and tried to care for him wouldn't realise what's required to keep him well, so we got 25 posters up around the area pretty quick.'
Thankfully, charmer Mugly is now safely recovering at home but has sadly lost some of his sparkle. Bev said: 'He's a big character in our house and I was so relieved to have him back but he's definitely lost some of his trust.
'He seems a bit unsure when you are playing with him and his toys when normally he wouldn't think twice. I hope the police catch these people and teach them a lesson.'
