Athens — Sonny Seiler and his family are not close to settling on the bulldog that shall become Uga VII and the first public appearance of the new University of Georgia mascot won't be until the Bulldogs' opening football game against Georgia Southern on Aug. 31 at Sanford Stadium.

Seiler was just returning to work at his law office in Savannah on Monday after he and his family spent 10 days on a cruise on the Queen Mary. But he wasn't getting much work done. He said he was trying to work his way through the stacks of letters and cards he has received from friends and strangers responding to the death of Uga VI, who passed away of heart failure on June 27.

"It wasn't the escape we had hoped for," Seiler said of the cruise. "We left with heavy hearts and they're still heavy as I try to answer all these wonderful cards and letters. In the meantime I have a law practice to run."

Accordingly, Seiler said the family was "not going to make an announcement anytime soon" regarding the new mascot.

"We have several alternatives and we haven't even had a chance to sit down as a family to review them all," said Seiler, whose family has overseen the Georgia mascots since 1956. "[Selecting the mascot has] been dubious at times but we've been blessed as far as making the right choice. We don't just throw a dart at a board."

Normally the first major public appearance for the popular mascot comes at Fans Picture Day a couple of weeks before each season. Tentatively slated for Aug. 16 this year, Seiler said the new Uga definitely won't be part of the event this year.

"Oh no, that wouldn't be fair," Seiler said. "That would be cheating the 92,000 fans who buy tickets and travel to Athens for the game. We think that's the appropriate place and time to introduce Uga to the world."