Since 1956, the University of Georgia has had an English Bulldog prowling the sidelines, and serving as the official mascot. These dogs – all named “Uga” - have been part of a lineage of English Bulldogs owned by Frank W. “Sonny” Seiler of Savannah, Ga.
During televised Georgia games, you will almost always see an obligatory camera shot of Uga standing by his trainer and barking towards the camera, or on hotter days just laying on the huge pile of crushed ice at the door of his air-conditioned dog house.
Uga has been publicized by Sports Illustrated and others as the greatest college mascot in the country. Even those who aren’t Georgia fans seems to find a soft spot in their heart for the loveable pooch.
Since the untimely death of the the last Uga (Uga VIII) in 2010, the spot on the sidelines has been filled by the multiple time stand-in dog named Russ, a cousin to the Uga line.
But in April of this year, Seiler announced that that he had selected “two or three finalists,” and that Uga IX would be announced at Georgia’s Picture Day, with his official unveiling at Georgia’s first regular-season game
There had been speculation that one of the front-runners to become the new Uga was the young bulldog pup that running back Isaiah Crowell held up for cameras while making his announcement that he had chosen to attend Georgia.
But given Crowell’s checkered past, and his most recent arrest on felony weapons and identification tampering charges, Seiler may want to re-think giving that ill-fated pup the honor of becoming Georgia’s beloved mascot.
Either way, the Bulldog Nation is excited to see who the new “Damn Good Dawg” will be.
