LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. — Mike Carroll remembers the day Quasi Modo was brought home.
"And wow, there she was, I couldn't believe it. Where's the rest of her."
His wife, Doc Ginnie, adopted her from Animal Care and Control where she works.
"She was so misshapen that it was scary to a lot of people, that they didn't even think that she was a dog. People thought hyena, Tasmanian devil, things like that."
Quasi was born with a birth defect called short spine syndrome.
"She usually won the people over who were afraid of her. She had a way of putting them at ease."
In 2015, Quasi won "The World's Ugliest Dog" contest. A trophy sits in the family room.
Doc Ginnie said, "When we won, going through the airport everybody would say that's the dog that was on tv, and selfies were popular."
Though Quasi became a celebrity, her owners say she taught them life lessons.
"Acceptance, you can't judge a book by its cover. She was a very friendly, warm dog."
Doc Ginnie hopes because of Quasi, more families will adopt a forever pet from a shelter.
"She was less than perfect, she was definitely different, so let's hope it teaches people that you can adopt pets that aren't exactly perfect and still make a loving good friend."
The couple says hundreds of people are writing messages on Quasi's Facebook page after hearing about her passing.
She was 14 years old.