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

The terrier mix triumphed over more than 8,000 other canines to win the 2023 PEOPLE's World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest Presented by the PEDIGREE® brand

The cuddly champion of the 2023 PEOPLE's World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest Presented by the PEDIGREE® brand has arrived — meet Hobie!

"He looks like a teddy bear and is very sweet," the one-eyed terrier mix's pet parent, Christin Bernhardt, tells PEOPLE about the pup's adorable allure.

For Bernhardt, 36, and her husband, Joern Riemer, Hobie's cuteness was undeniable from the first moment they saw him.

Before meeting the dog, the couple felt their family was "incomplete" after their cross-country move from Boston to Coto de Caza, California, in the summer of 2022. So they began searching for another dog to join them and their 15-year-old Cairn terrier Zoe. Browsing through 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 online photo.

As it turns out, so did the voters in the 2023 People's World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest Presented by the PEDIGREE® brand. Thousands of voters chose the 5-year-old terrier mix to win the annual competition. Hobie's spunk and charm helped him triumph over 8,000 other furry contestants. He also won the heart of celebrity judge and country star Miranda Lambert, whose MuttNation Foundation raises awareness about rescue pet adoption.

Hobie's prizes include a year's supply of dog food from PEDIGREE and a $1,000 donation to the animal rescue of his choice. The pooch's family has opted to donate the prize to PUP Laguna Beach, the fundraising arm of the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter, Hobie's former home.

"Joern and I both jumped up and down with excitement," Bernhardt says of learning about Hobie's win. "We gave Hobie a big hug and told him that he's now officially the world's cutest!"

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

Related: 'Adorable' Rescue Dog Who 'Spent Hours Every Day' Looking Out Window for a Family Gets Adopted (Exclusive)

Knowing his history made the couple more determined to give the 20-lb. pup a loving home.

"We went back to the shelter almost every day for two weeks until he opened up to us," says Bernhardt, remembering the day when Hobie finally gave her "a big, slobbery kiss. . . . That was the moment where the ice broke."

She and Riemer brought Hobie home soon after, on July 17, 2022. Since then, Hobie — who was a little skittish for the first two weeks after his adoption — has fully acclimated to his new life.

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

"He could do this for hours," she adds. "He's a very sweet, mild-mannered little boy." Especially when it comes to other animals.

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

"He just sits in front of them and watches them," says Bernhardt, adding that the pup has his own stuffed animal cat that he snuggles with regularly.

He also makes monthly visits with Bernhardt to his old home at the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter to drop off pet food donations, visit with his former caretakers, and say hello to the shelter's resident rabbit.

"Hobie's in love with that rabbit," says Bernhardt.

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

Related: Chicago Marathon Runner Sacrifices Personal Record to Help Stray Kitten at Mile 21 (Exclusive)

"These animals are all so loving and so thankful. To be able to help Hobie really means so much to us," she says.

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

Hobie joins an adorable group of past World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest winners, which includes Gordon and Heaven. And rounding out the 2023 winner's circles are the competition's two runners-up, Skye and Ducky.

Carlene Harper calls 9-month-old Skye her "patchwork puppy." A DNA test revealed the dog is a mix of 15 breeds, including Siberian husky, Labrador retriever, and miniature schnauzer. "It's been fun to watch each breed come to life," says Harper, 68, of raising the canine she adopted in March from Fur-Ever Paws Dog Rescue in Newark, Delaware. Since her retirement, she says, Skye has given her "a reason to walk more, play more and laugh more."

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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 start that he "has the best personality ever." The 8-year-old puggle mix loves to "walk up to strangers with a smile on his face," says Waltersdorf, 29, and is super "snuggly." 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 World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest Presented by the PEDIGREE® brand, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE — on newsstands Friday — and visit people.com/rescuedogcontest.

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