UGA VI - Rest in Peace...

ATHENS --Uga VI, the biggest and winningest of Georgia's famed line of mascots, died Friday in his hometown of Savannah.

Uga, who weighed in at 65 pounds and presided over 87 wins by the football team, died of congestive heart failure, his owner Sonny Seiler said in a statement released several hours after Cecelia Seiler confirmed the death to The Telegraph.

"He was a good one," Sonny Seiler said. "He was a strong and healthy dog. He was the biggest of all the dogs, and he had the biggest heart. It just played out."
Uga VI was breathing heavily Friday evening, Sonny Seiler noticed.
"I noticed he had a little congestion in his throat, which usually is not a cause for alarm," Seiler said. "I gave him a bath, which he always loved, to cool him off. After that, I called (family veterinarian Stanley Lester), whose office is about a four-minute drive from our house. (Uga's) heart just played out. He suffered no pain and died peacefully."

Cecelia Seiler, the matriarch of the Uga line, said the family lost more than just a pet. "He lived right here in my den with me for 10 years," Cecelia Seiler said. "He was a happy dog."

Uga VI would have turned 10 on July 22. Only Uga I served past his 10th birthday. A successor, who will take the mantel as Uga VII before the 2008 football season, is available but won't be announced until a later date.
"This is a very sad day for the entire Bulldog Nation," athletics director Damon Evans said. "Uga VI was a damn good mascot and a damn good dog. He was an outstanding representative of our fine institution."

Uga VI assumed his duties prior to the 1999 game against South Carolina at Sanford Stadium in a ceremony that included his father, Uga V. He bridged the Jim Donnan and Mark Richt eras and won two SEC championships with Richt's Bulldogs in 2002 and 2005. He was 87-27 overall, surpassing the previous record of 77-24-4 held by Uga IV.

Uga VI's registered name was "Uga V's Whatchagot Loran?" - a reference to the question regularly asked of sideline reporter Loran Smith by play-by-play announced Larry Munson.

Uga VI will be buried this week in a private ceremony at Sanford Stadium in the marble vault that holds his predecessors.

Pictures of the fine ol' fella here: http://www.macon.com/403/gallery/390729.html