Ikkyu had the kind of face only a dog could love. Perhaps it’s best that his lover was blind :- )
Appearances are illusory and transitory. Ikkyu looked like a dog, but he was a Lion of the dharma. That happens a lot in various lineages of the Buddha Dharma. Look up Drukpa Kunley, the great siddha of Bhuthan.
https://www.amazon.ca/Divine-Madman-Sublime-Drukpa-Kunley/dp/1495379833