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| Announcement: Uga VII's death comes as surprise, family says |
| Posted: NEMO @ Thu Nov 19, 2009 11:01 pm |
By Mary Carr Mayle
Uga VII, the latest in a line of the most famous dogs in all of college football, died Thursday morning at home in Savannah with owners Frank W. “Sonny” and Cecelia Seiler.
Preliminary indications are he suffered a heart attack.
“It was totally unexpected,” said Swann Seiler, the Seiler’s daughter. “He had a wonderful checkup just last week at the vet school in Athens.
“We are all devastated.”
Arrangements are still being finalized by the university’s sports information office, but Uga VII will no doubt be interred at Sanford Stadium, where his six predecessors are enshrined.
There will be no live mascot at Saturday’s home game against Kentucky. Instead, a wreath will be placed on Uga VII’s doghouse on the student side of the field.
“He was a wonderful, gentle dog,” Swann Seiler said. “In the two years we had him, we all came to love him very much.”
Uga VII – whose official name was Loran’s Best, in honor of longtime UGA sideline reporter Loran Smith – took the field for the first time Aug. 30, 2008, during Georgia’s season-opening game against Georgia Southern. At the time, it had been barely two months since the death of Uga VI, who reigned for almost a decade.
Weighing in at 56 pounds the first time he donned the red jersey, the four-year-old Uga VII was the second largest of the Ugas. But his size belied a quiet, easygoing temperament, prompting Sonny Seiler to implore a family friend last season to “quit calling him cute.”
“Call him fierce, call him tenacious, but don’t call him cute – that’s not the image he’s looking to portray,” Seiler joked at the time.
No matter what he was called, there was one word everyone seemed to agree on when it came to the four-legged mascot.
Adored.
Wherever Uga went – whether it was running errands with Cecelia in Savannah or holding court in his crate under the bridge at the stadium before games, Uga could attract a crowd in a matter of seconds.
One night last fall, former Georgia player-turned-sports-announcer Matt Stinchcomb was hosting a benefit for the Georgia Transplant Foundation on Whitemarsh Island when Swann Seiler dropped by, Uga in tow, to show her support.
The result? A spontaneous bulldog love-fest that immediately eclipsed Stinchcomb and co-host Jamie Deen, both celebrities in their own right.
“He’s by far the biggest celebrity on the field when Georgia plays,” Stinchcomb said. “He has more security than Coach Richt.”
But, despite the universal appeal, the mascot isn’t what the Seilers see first.
“What (people) don’t realize is that, to us, he’s not an icon. He’s a family pet,” Sonny Seiler said.
Uga VII was the latest in the line of white English bulldogs that have been part of the Seiler household for more than a half-century, the first a wedding gift to Sonny and Cecelia in 1956, while they still were students at the University of Georgia.
Since then, the Seiler’s bulldog mascots have been featured on the covers of Sports Illustrated, Time, Newsweek and in several movies.
Like his father and grandfathers before him, Uga VII had to meet certain criteria to become the mascot. An Uga must be male, solid white and the son of a previous Uga.
Seiler said he likely wouldn’t name a replacement until next year.
“We are all in a state of shock,” he said in a news release issued by the university. “We had no warning whatsoever.”
Uga VII had big paws to fill – Uga VI was the school’s winningest mascot, racking up a 87-27 record, seven wins in nine bowl appearances and a pair of Southeastern Conference championships.
But Seiler said this dog distinguished himself in his own way.
“He was 10-3 last year, which is not bad for a freshman,” Seiler said. “Uga VII was not as active or mischievous as his father, but more distinguished. He realized his role when he put his shirt on. He was well-behaved and always appreciated the significance of his role.”
Damon Evans, the school’s athletic director, said Uga was a compelling symbol for football fans across the nation.
“Just as his ancestors, he had captured the hearts of college football fans everywhere as the country’s No. 1 mascot,” Evans said. “He had been truly embraced by all those who follow the Georgia Bulldogs across the country.
“We will miss him dearly.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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