“Britain’s Ugliest Dog” Will Star in the Next *Deadpool* Movie · The Wildest

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“Britain’s Ugliest Dog” Will Star in the Next Deadpool Movie

Peggy was the runt of her litter—now, she’s a Marvel VIP.

by Sio Hornbuckle
Updated July 16, 2024
This is Peggy. She was cast as @Dogpool in the pupcoming Marvel Studios movie Deadpool & Wolverine. She was selected as the perfect sidekick to Wade Wilson after winning the title of Britain’s Ugliest Dog in 2023.
Credit: Marvel Studios

The star of the newest Deadpool movie, Deadpool & Wolverine, might subvert your expectations for a Marvel superstar. She’s not an ultra-ripped, tanned dreamboat; she’s never had a protein shake, and you won’t find her at the gym (though she does do her own stunts).

Peggy, your new favorite celebrity, is a Chinese Crested/Pug mix who was named Britain’s Ugliest Dog in 2022 — and this year, she’s strutting her stuff on the red carpet alongside some of Hollywood’s biggest names.

Peggy’s rise to fame 

After being born the runt of her litter, Peggy waited six months before being adopted by her mom, Holly Middleton.

“All the other pups had new homes but I imagine people looking at her saw nothing but a high maintenance dog and the possibility of health issues,” Middleton told ParrotPrint. “We loved her the Instant we laid eyes on her with her big brown eyes, little tuft of white hair, and her tongue lolling out to one side.”

While she’s instantly recognizable for her extremely long tongue and wrinkly face, Peggy’s looks don’t cause any disruption to her daily life. “Peggy is a completely healthy and happy dog, her tongue doesn’t cause her any issues, she can eat (and she really does love to eat) and drink with no problems, and other than having to wear jumpers for warmth in colder weather and sun cream in the summer she’s exactly the same as any other dog,” Middleton told ParrotPrint. 

In late 2022, Middleton entered Peggy into ParrotPrint’s Britain’s Ugliest Dog contest at the suggestion of some friends; though Middleton herself finds Peggy beautiful, she knows how people react to Peggy’s unusual appearance, and she doesn’t take offense. Peggy won the contest and catapulted to stardom, making appearances on BBC Breakfast, ITV’s This Morning, BBC Radio Five Live, and more media outlets.

“We didn’t set out to get a quirky dog, an underdog,” Middleton added in the interview. “I hope [her win] encourages people to overlook the little oddities of those dogs left on the shelf.” 

Peggy’s film debut

Deadpool & Wolverine will be Peggy’s first movie. In it, she stars alongside Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman as Dogpool, a dog variant of Deadpool (aka Wade Wilson). “The reason why I was a huge proponent for her was because she feels like the animal manifestation of Wade Wilson,” Reynolds told Empire. “It was, just, like, many things during the writing process, a tiny little afterthought, and it grew. It was one of those things where you just keep listening to the movie, and Dogpool became a staple.”

Thursday, Peggy appeared on the red carpet alongside the cast of the film at the London premiere of Deadpool & Wolverine. Outfitted in her Dogpool costume, Peggy walked the red carpet and took to the stage with her co-stars. 

On stage at the premiere, Reynolds introduced Peggy to the audience. “This is Peggy, aka Mary Poppins, aka dogpool. Get a good look. Her nipples are the size of children’s fingers. She won Ugliest Dog in Britain, but we’re not telling her that, because she’s a 10 in our hearts, isn’t she?” Reynolds said.  “We love her very, very much, yes we do. Yeah, she’s a big star.” 

Correction: We have amended this version of the article to read, “This is Peggy, aka Mary Poppins, aka dogpool. Get a good look. Her nipples are the size of children’s fingers.” Originally, we reported that Reynolds said, “children’s sneakers.”

Sio Hornbuckle

Sio Hornbuckle is a writer living in New York City with their cat, Toni Collette.

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