Rescue Dog Missing a Leg Wins World’s Cutest Title

Champ may have only three legs, but that hasn’t stopped him from living a life full of adventure, spreading happiness, and winning hearts. The 10-year-old Yorkie mix from Cohoes, New York, has officially been crowned the winner of PEOPLE’s 2026 World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest, proving that this little rescue pup has plenty to celebrate. But Champ’s journey to becoming an award-winning therapy dog began far from the spotlight. Once a stray wandering the streets of Texas with a serious leg injury, he eventually found a loving family who saw everything he could become rather than what he had lost. Credit: Facebook A Little Rescue Dog Who Refused to Slow Down Before he was known as Champ, the adorable Yorkie mix went by a very different name: Chunk. He was rescued from the streets of Texas by My Chi & Me Rescue in The Woodlands after being found with a serious injury to one of his back legs. Despite his difficult circumstances, Chunk had somehow managed to put on a few extra pounds while living as a stray. His future mom, Susan Carmody, later joked to PEOPLE that he might have been the only overweight stray anyone had ever found. Veterinarians examined the little dog and determin...