Is it time for fresh blood in UGA’s Dawghouse?
Does the early death of Uga VIII mean changes are needed in the mascot line? (Associated Press)
The second straight premature death of an Uga mascot, this one after serving just six games, has prompted a lot of discussion both inside and outside the Bulldog Nation about what’s wrong with Sonny Seiler’s proud line of all-white English bulldogs.
As Matt Hinton of Rivals.com put it, “even for a breed with notorious cardiac and respiratory problems and zero tolerance for heat, the Ugas are beginning to resemble the mascot version of the royal hemophiliacs of Europe: Blue-blooded, inbred and increasingly feeble beyond function.”
The two words I’ve heard most from Georgia fans since Uga VIII’s death last week are “fresh blood,” as in a belief that Seiler needs to either abandon the current line that links back in circuitous fashion to the original Uga, give up on restricting the mascot’s job to only pure white bulldogs (one reason substitute Russ isn’t deemed qualified to be the permanent mascot) or at least introduce some hardier stock into the breeding of the line.
So I put the question to JD, a UGA fan who’s also a breeder of English bulldogs: What’s the word on the breeding circuit about the Uga line? Two sickly ones in a row died young. Is it a matter of Sonny needing to freshen the bloodline?
“Definitely,” JD replied. “Sonny has some legitimate health problems in his line. It is not standard for a bulldog to die so young. Average age of a bulldog is 10.”
What would Seiler need to do to strengthen the line and yet still maintain the link to the original Uga?
“He needs to engage in a planned breeding program,” JD said. ” If necessary, buy a quality female or two and then breed to the reigning Uga. That would improve his line (healthwise). Problem is when you have serious health problems, there is an ethical issue on whether you should breed that line any further.”
Some fans have even suggested that UGA look elsewhere than Seiler’s line for a new mascot. One popular suggestion has been the all-white bulldog puppy held up last week by Isaiah Crowell on signing day. JD says the pup, named Magical Munson Woods, was bred by an Athens area fan, Glenn Lyles, with the sire being a dog owned by my high school classmate Mike “Big Dawg” Woods (the ominpresent fan who paints a bulldog on his bald head). The upside of naming that dog as Uga IX would be not only a fresh bloodline, but the school would have a mascot who lived close enough to Athens to attend many more UGA athletic events than the Savannah-based Seiler mascots.
But the chances of the university abandoning an arrangement of more than five decades with a high-profile alum like Seiler seems highly unlikely.
So what can be done? JD believes Seiler “probably has to get off his idea of an unbroken line. … Bring in some new blood from some quality show kennels.”
The situation is complicated, JD said, because many reputable breeders “won’t breed with Sonny because of the quality of his male and the in-line health problems (the first rule of breeding is always breed your female to the best available male) and his restrictive breeding agreement that the owner of the female must sign” about maintaining secrecy and forgoing any marketing rights.
The bottom line, JD says, is that Seiler has to “swallow his pride and accept some major changes.”
What do you think? Do we really need an unbroken line dating back to the original Uga or would it be better for Seiler to start the line over? Should UGA look to another breeder? What would you think of an Uga who wasn’t all-white?
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415 comments Add your comment
UGA FRIEND
February 11th, 2011
4:17 am
Good job Bill King. Over 400 responses generated from a topic that does not impact the preformance of the football team at all.
Down South Dawg
February 11th, 2011
6:20 am
Diamonds & Coal ! — So you invited every Ya-Hoo to give their opinion, including me!
The Seiler family has invested the galant effort of multigenerations into the UGA mascot line. No one cares more about the well being and stability of the “Uga” line. I’m sure the Seiler Family with the help of the Univ. of Georgia Vet school can and will find the best solution.
They deserve our gratitude and support. — GO DAWGS !
SickandTired
February 11th, 2011
7:01 am
Munson Woods will become legendary in UGA lore when it becomes apparent that he’s the Dawg that got Crowell ruled ineligible by the NCAA. They don’t give those Dawgs away folks. They have value in the thousands. If that dawg was given to Crowell he’s as good as gone from Georgia and Sanford Stadium will become the nicest soccer venue in the NCAA when they start investigating this recruiting class.
fla dawg
February 11th, 2011
7:13 am
tell you what I think…. i think i had to go to the tenth page of posts to say, “who cares”. people that say our fans are crazy may be correct.
AceDawg
February 11th, 2011
8:49 am
All white outside of the jersey makes sense, but new blood is needed. Either a total new line, or the better first step for UGA tradition of mixing Sellers’ batch with an outsider or two.
TBone
February 11th, 2011
9:03 am
I think we need to adopt a pit bulldog. They are tough and you could find one like the one on the Little Rascals. Go Dawgs
Jborodawg
February 11th, 2011
9:10 am
Thx ‘atl xmen’ for a wonderful story about CMR! Please save this piece and submit it next time there’s the inevitable inane blog/article in the ajc.com about CMR or the Bulldogs supposed failures.
Jborodawg
February 11th, 2011
9:26 am
Here’s a story about one of the thug signees this year. Wrong thread, but “atl gmen” started it…
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/116/article/45161/
TejasDawg
February 11th, 2011
9:37 am
If the University is willing to give CMR another chance after three (yes 08 sucked given what was expected) underperfoming seasons, they should give the breeder of the mascot another shot. Maybe he can hire a new assistant and spend his time on the “cutting edge” of breeding.
jaglaw
February 11th, 2011
10:17 am
All good things and ideas must sometime come to an end. Change it up. Get a new blood. I love the Mike “BigDawg” idea. Maybe he and Sonny can work together.
I have an english bulldog….he is one good looking dawg…..I am sure he is tired of humping his pillow…bring him a female and I am sure he could “help the cause”.
Halsey
February 11th, 2011
10:24 am
I’m glad this topic is being discussed because it seems like some people want to believe it’s just a coincidence that the last two Ugas died young.
L
February 11th, 2011
11:02 am
I know a little bit about dog breeding (a different breed, not English Bulldogs). In my research, it seems that “in-breeding” is acceptable practice even in the most prestigious show dogs. In fact, breeding niece to uncle would be considered prudent. In respectable pedigrees of many dogs, when you trace the line back, you will often see half-brother and half-sister (dogs that share one of the same parents) bred together in an attempt to get that champion “look.” What you will NOT see in the honorable, ethical dog breeders is the breeding of a dog that is known to have health problems. If Seiler’s entire line is contaminated with dogs that have health problems than I would think that the most ethical response would be to “retire” from providing the mascot and allow another breeder with healthy dogs to take over.
Hambone
February 11th, 2011
6:47 pm
Whut be wrong wid a black UGA?
DawgVoiceofReason
February 12th, 2011
7:30 pm
Bill,
This topic was a disaster! You only encouraged our rivals to post insulting, uninformed, and hateful comments, and some of our fans don’t do much better. You started off with junk and it only led to more. I quote, ““Definitely,” JD replied. “Sonny has some legitimate health problems in his line. It is not standard for a bulldog to die so young. Average age of a bulldog is 10.”
What would Seiler need to do to strengthen the line and yet still maintain the link to the original Uga?
“He needs to engage in a planned breeding program,” JD said. ” If necessary, buy a quality female or two and then breed to the reigning Uga. That would improve his line (healthwise). Problem is when you have serious health problems, there is an ethical issue on whether you should breed that line any further.”
First of all, you don’t identify this “JD” which was fortunate for him because he made some completely unsubstantiated comments. He obviously doesn’t have the first fact in front of him, other than two Ugas died early of COMPLETELY UNRELATED causes. He apparently doesn’t know the first (or last) thing about what the Seilers have been doing with their breeding program because he has NOT a single fact to back up his wild guesses.
Then, his BRILLIANT idea is to breed to the “reigning” Uga. The dog is DECEASED and there is NO reigning Uga. Why would you even include that???
This article needs to be thrown out with the GARBAGE. The Seilers and our Ugas need to be treated with respect and appreciated, not gossiped about.
Shannon
February 13th, 2011
2:27 pm
Glenn Lyles is an awesome man with a huge love and loyalty for UGA, young people, and for bulldogs. That would be FANTASTIC!!!