Click to see AJC screen capture.

Click to see Macon Tel screen capture.

Chip Towers is reporting in the AJC that Sonny Seiler plans to retire the current Uga following the 2007 season. Uga VI took over from his father in 1999 during a “Changing of the Dawg” ceremony before the South Carolina game. Since the indication is that the next transition will take place after the 2007 season, it doesn’t appear as if there will be a similar ceremony this time.

Uga VI is the largest bulldog in the line to date, and he has faced some health problems for years because of that size. Seiler maintains that Uga VI is in fine health for a bulldog of his age and should be up for his ninth season on the sidelines. The life expectancy of a typical bulldog isn’t much more than ten years, but we know that Uga isn’t just a typical bulldog.

While not as famous as his movie star father, Uga VI has been more effective on the field. He has presided over two SEC championships and witnessed wins in 76 of the 101 games in which he has been the mascot since that debut victory against the Gamecocks in 1999.

No word yet on Uga VII or when he will be introduced, but Sonny assures us that “I’ll just say if we needed to put our hands on a puppy, we’d be ready.”

UPDATE: Seiler denies setting a firm date for Uga VI’s retirement. Josh Kendall in the Macon Telegraph quotes Seiler, “Why should we draw a line any place?” Kendall writes,

None of the dogs in the Uga line has served beyond the age of 10, so there’s no guarantee the current Uga, officially named “Uga V’s Whatchagot Loran,” will be around for the 2008 season, but there’s also no reason to say he won’t, Seiler said.

It’s possible that the original articles might be edited, so I’ve taken some screen captures of the originals. It’s a few days too early for an April Fool’s joke like this.