Uga VII introduced to Georgia faithful

Athens — With a shake of his head and a slurp from that magnificent underbite, Uga VII introduced himself to his new constituency Saturday afternoon.

Dawgs, meet dog.

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Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Uga VII, the son of Uga VI, peers out of his cage as he is driven into Sanford Stadium. The new Uga, named ‘Loran’s Best,’ was introduced to the crowd before kickoff.

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The coronation was performed at midfield, where the pure white English bulldog known in his previous life as Loran’s Best was delivered by golf cart moments before Georgia opened the 2008 season with a 45-21 win over Georgia Southern.

University president Michael Adams slipped a spiked, red collar around the new mascot’s rumpled neck, a sellout crowd of 92,746 stood to cheer — okay, a lot of them barked — and Uga VII was enthroned.

His first act: return to his sideline doghouse and chill. The Sanford Stadium P.A. cued the James Bond theme. 007. Get it?

“That’s a good looking dog,” said UGA fan Brad Hensley from Commerce, taking it all in from Section 125. “Beautiful.”

Uga VII could not have realized he was being tested right away, for Georgia opened the season for the first time ever ranked No. 1. Savannahnan Sonny Seiler, owner of all the Ugas dating back 52 years, had two months to pick a successor to Uga VI, who died from a heart attack.

With three of Uga VI’s progeny to chose from, Seiler settled on Loran’s Best, who is nearly three years old, has a pinkish nose and weighs a well-wrinkled 561/2 pounds. That makes him second biggest in the Uga line only to his father.

“We’ve been doing it a long time — 52 years — and we think we know what we’re doing,” Seiler said. “We look for the way the dog holds himself, for his ears, for his tail, for how he walks but most of all for his demeanor and the way he presents himself when he’s dressed in his jersey.

“All these things we consider as we go along. It’s not something that we just go throw a dart at a board.”

Nevertheless, the whole Uga phenomenon still amazes him from time to time. Uga I was actually a gift dog presented to his wife Cecelia that Seiler, as a student in 1956, nominated as the mascot.

“I never thought it would get beyond (Uga) I,” Seiler said. “I figured when I graduated, that’d be the end of that.”

On a sweltering afternoon (88 degrees at kickoff), Uga VII had the good sense to rest when his vigilance was not required. With Georgia coasting on a 24-point lead early in the fourth quarter, the scoreboard video screen showed the new dog sound asleep in his air-conditioned house.

“He didn’t pace himself so he slept a quarter,” said Charles Seiler, Sonny’s son who handles the pooch during games. “That’s not too bad.”

Uga VII’s celebrity was already confirmed long before this formal introduction. Sonny Seiler said in the last two weeks alone, he has declined the invitations to two weddings and one funeral.

But in Uga VII’s first official outing, he proved proficient if not quieter than his father, whose incessant barking was the sound track of a decade of Saturdays. VII’s coronation was preceded by a video tribute to VI, which drew an ovation of its own.

“I’ll tell you, VII likes Hairy,” said senior UGA cheerleader Chuck Jenkins, watching as the canine posed for pictures with the school’s uniformed mascot, Hairy Dawg. “VI did not like Hairy. He barked at him every time he saw him.”

The game finally over, Uga VII made his way through a host of photographers, obviously enjoying the moment. He has far to go. His father accumulated an 87-27 record and a pair of SEC championships.

Asked if the dog might have been a bit more vigilant than to allow GSU a third touchdown in the final 1:45, athletics director Damon Evans just laughed.

“We’ll say this, he got his first win,” Evans said. “The first of many.”

Somewhat oddly, the team was almost oblivious to the changing of the guard. The pregame ceremony was performed while the Bulldogs were in the locker room. Quarterback Matthew Stafford (No. 7) is still waiting to pose for a picture with the other No. VII. Their time will come.

But even without meeting the dog, the Bulldogs comprehended what the day meant. Guard Vince Vance nodded in appreciation as he said, “He did his job.”