Uga VII to be buried Saturday morning at Sanford Stadium

By Chip Towers

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Uga VII will be laid to rest in a private ceremony at Sanford Stadium on Saturday morning.

The Georgia Bulldogs mascot, who died suddenly on Thursday, will be interred in the mausoleum in the southwest corner of Sanford Stadium where his six predecessors are also buried.

The ceremony will take place sometime before Saturday's 7:45 p.m. game against Kentucky. However, UGA officials have asked that the exact time of the ceremony not be announced. Only UGA dignitaries and members of the family of Cecelia and Sonny Seiler, the mascots' owners the last 54 years, will be present.

"It looks like that's what we're going to do," daughter Swann Seiler said Friday. "We would just like to thank the Georgia people for the tremendous outpouring of support. Everyone has been so kind. Everybody loves that dog."

The latest in UGA's line of English bulldog mascots, "Uga VII's Loran's Best," passed away suddenly Thursday morning due to heart complications. He was only 4 years old and was serving just his second season as the Bulldogs' official mascot. The team's record during his tenure was 16-7.

As of early Friday afternoon there had been no work done on the mausoleum in preparation for the dog's body. Large red marble slabs entomb the mascots next to the southwest walkway surrounding the playing field. A red Georgia tailgate tent had been placed over the area Friday.

Uga VII will be buried to the right of his father, Uga VI, or "Uga V's Whatchagot Loran."