mangy

Their tenuous connection to the kings of the jungle has given them a misplaced superiority complex so that even the mangiest moggie behaves as if everyone else, including humans, are peasants whose sole function is to serve him.

The rival team is "the nastiest, smelliest, mangiest, snarlingest bunch of varmints you've ever seen." In this action-packed tale, the puck gets "whacked," a goose "deked past the Bandit's goalie to score," and a particularly scary opponent proceeds to "smash, bash, whack, crack, slice, dice, and fricassee one Farm player after another." Such perfectly chosen verbs add a play-by-play feel to the story that will increase the charm of this tale as a read-aloud.

I wouldn't put down the mangiest old dog I know to replace Blair with one of them.