One-Eyed ‘Teddy Bear’ Pup Hobie Crowned World’s Cutest Rescue Dog (Exclusive)

The cuddly champion of the PEOPLE competition for the cutest rescue dog in the world 2023, represented by the PEDIGREE® brand, has arrived — meet Hobie!

“He looks like a teddy bear and he’s very cute,” Christin Bernhardt, the pet parent of the one-eyed terrier, tells PEOPLE of the pup’s adorable appeal.

For Bernhardt, 36, and her husband Joern Riemer, Hobie’s cuteness was undeniable from the first moment they laid eyes on him.

Before meeting the dog, the couple felt their family was “incomplete” after moving from Boston to Coto de Cazo, California in the summer of 2022. So they began looking for another dog to join them and their 15-year-old Cairn terrier Zoe. While browsing rescue pets online, Bernhardt came across Hobie, who was available for adoption at the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter.

“We fell in love with him,” Bernhardt says of her and Riemer’s reaction to Hobie’s photo online.

It turns out that so did the voters in the 2023 cutest rescue dog in the world contest organized by the PEDIGREE® brand. Thousands of voters chose the five-year-old terrier mix to win the annual competition. Hobie’s courage and charm helped him win over 8,000 other furry contestants. He also won the heart of celebrity judge and country star Miranda Lambert, whose MuttNation Foundation raises awareness for pet adoption.

Hobie, 5, was named Pedigree’s cutest rescue of 2023 with his family in Coto de Caza, CA. October 7, 2023 with the family of Christin Bernhardt Joern Riemer and ‘fur sister’ Zoe Hobie was rescued from Name of Rescue: PUP (Protection of Unwanted Pets).

Michael Brian

Hobie’s prizes include a year’s supply of PEDIGREE dog food and a $1,000 donation to an animal rescue of his choice. The dog’s family decided to donate the reward to PUP Laguna Beach, the fundraising arm of the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter, Hobie’s former home.

“Joern and I were jumping up and down with excitement,” says Bernhardt when he learned of Hobie’s win. “We gave Hobie a big hug and told him he’s now officially the cutest in the world!”

While it was love at first sight for Bernhardt and Riemer (41), Hobie was a little more skeptical. “He was really barking at us,” says Bernhardt, recalling their first visit to the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter. The couple learned that Hobie was rescued from the streets of Tijuana, Mexico, where he was found with severe glaucoma, which eventually led to the removal of his left eye.

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Knowing his past made the couple more determined to give the 20 lb. a loving home.

“We went back to the shelter almost every day for two weeks until it opened up,” says Bernhardt, recalling the day Hobie finally gave her “a big, drooling kiss. . . . That was the moment the ice broke.”

Hobie, 5, was named Pedigree’s Cutest Rescue of 2023 with his family in Coto de Caza, CA. October 7, 2023 with the family of Christin Bernhardt Joern Riemer and ‘fur sister’ Zoe Hobie was rescued from Name of Rescue: PUP (Protection of Unwanted Pets).

Michael Brian

She and Riemer brought Hobie home shortly after, on July 17, 2022. Since then, Hobie — who was a bit skittish for the first two weeks after his adoption — has fully settled into his new life.

“We have this ritual on weekend mornings: I drink coffee, he crawls on my lap, and I hold him like a baby,” says Bernhardt.

“He could do this for hours,” she adds. “He is a very sweet, gentle boy.” Especially when it comes to other animals.

Bernhardt often catches him cuddling with their older dog, Zoe. Along with car rides and trips to the beach, one of Hobie’s favorite activities is visiting the pet store to see adoptable cats.

“He just sits in front of them and looks at them,” says Bernhardt, adding that the pup has his own stuffed cat that he cuddles with regularly.

Hobie, 5, was named Pedigree’s cutest rescue of 2023 with his family in Coto de Caza, CA. October 7, 2023 with the family of Christin Bernhardt Joern Riemer and ‘fur sister’ Zoe Hobie was rescued from Name of Rescue: PUP (Protection of Unwanted Pets).

Michael Brian

He also visits his old home at the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter each month with Bernhardt to drop off pet food donations, visit his former caretakers and say hello to a rabbit living at the shelter.

“Hobie is in love with that rabbit,” says Bernhardt.

These days, it’s hard for Bernhardt to think about Hobie’s time alone as a stray — and she’s grateful she gave him the life he has now.

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“All these animals are loving and so grateful. Being able to help Hobie really means a lot to us,” she says.

Bernhardt and Riemer started an Instagram for Hobie (@hobie_sandypawz) to celebrate the dog and raise awareness of adoptable pets with disabilities in hopes of helping more animals like Hobie find forever homes.

Hobie joins a lovely group of past winners of the World’s Cutest Rescue Dog competition, including Gordon and Heaven. And the winner’s circles in 2023 are rounded off by two runner-up competitions, Skye and Ducky.

Skye second place in the World’s cutest rescue dog competition in 2023.

kindness

Carlene Harper calls 9-month-old Skye her “patchwork puppy.” A DNA test revealed the dog was a mix of 15 breeds, including a Siberian Husky, Labrador Retriever and Miniature Schnauzer. “It’s been fun watching every breed come to life,” Harper, 68, says of raising the dog she adopted in March from the Fur-Ever Paws dog rescue organization in Newark, Delaware. Since retiring, she says, Skye has given her “a reason to walk more, play more and laugh more.”

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Ducky second place in the world competition for the cutest rescue dog in 2023.

kindness

Maria Waltersdorf met Ducky on Valentine’s Day 2018 and soon adopted him from Indiana’s Heartland Small Animal Rescue. It was clear from the beginning that he “has the best personality ever”. The 8-year-old puggle likes to “approach strangers with a smile on his face,” says Waltersdorf, 29, and is super “snug.” His sweet nature inspired her to pursue a career in animal welfare to help more pets like Ducky.

To learn more about Hobie and PEOPLE’s PEDIGREE® World’s Cutest Rescue Dog Contest, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE — on newsstands Friday — and visit people.com/rescuedogcontest.

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Source: HIS Education