Georgia — The University of Georgia's mascot, Uga VI, has died of congestive heart failure.

The university said Saturday that the 9-year-old English bulldog died after being taken to a veterinarian. Its owner found the mascot breathing heavily at home the night before.

The dog became the mascot in 1999 for the school's teams, known as the "Bulldogs."

He was a regular on the sidelines of home football games in a shirt stitched with the letter 'G.'

Damon Evans, the university's athletic director, called it a "sad day for the entire Bulldog nation."