Crossbreeding is not a panacea, but Bateson and Sargan — the authors of two of the three independent dog-breeding reports in England — told me that it would most likely be needed to save the bulldog. Sargan made reference to the Dalmatian, which was beset with kidney stones until it was crossbred with a single pointer and then backcrossed to Dalmatians.

But Dr. Federico Calboli, the co-author of a 2008 study in the journal Genetics about the inbreeding of purebred dogs, says the modern bulldog is a very specific — and unfortunate — case. “Many, if not most of the bulldog’s health problems are not due to inbreeding but are due to the shape that the dogs are bred,” he said. “Bulldogs could be as outbred as mongrel dogs in the streets of Calcutta, but if they keep that phenotype, they are not going very far.”

Many critics of bulldog breeding practices say that some of the bulldog’s health problems could be alleviated simply by changing the breed standard. Jemima Harrison, the director of “Pedigree Dogs Exposed,” told me it is possible to produce a healthier phenotype in most breeds pretty quickly (in three to four generations), because there is always some variation within a breed — for example, bulldogs with slightly longer muzzles or fewer wrinkles. “If breeders were willing to breed to dogs with fewer exaggerated characteristics and judges in the show ring began rewarding those dogs, change could happen,” she said. “But the B.C.A. hasn’t shown leadership on this issue, and the A.K.C. has its head in the sand and is desperately hoping that the attention that purebred health problems have received in England doesn’t translate to America.” (The A.K.C. refutes this. “The American Kennel Club and its breed clubs have worked diligently to improve the health of dogs for decades in our country,” Lisa Peterson, an A.K.C. spokeswoman, said. Peterson also said the A.K.C. trusts the B.C.A. to know “what is best for the breed.”)

While the British Kennel Club, in addition to changing its breed standards, has banned the registration of puppies from closely related parents, the A.K.C. has refused to follow suit. Wayne Pacelle, the Humane Society C.E.O., told me that if the A.K.C. and breed clubs won’t act, it’s inevitable that animal welfare groups will push for legal standards addressing inbreeding and the physical soundness and genetic health of dogs. “Breeding certainly has a place in the world of dogs, but this mania about achieving what’s considered a ‘perfect’ or desirable outward appearance rather than focusing on the physical soundness of the animal is one of the biggest dog-welfare problems in this country,” he said. “And the emotional and financial cost of these sick dogs to their owners is enormous.”

Pacelle stressed the importance of educating consumers about purebred health problems. “A lot of people buy a breed like the bulldog without realizing just how compromised it is,” he said. “They also have no idea how to differentiate a ‘responsible’ breeder from an irresponsible one.”

I heard the same thing from Laurette Richin of the Long Island Bulldog Rescue. When she opened the doors to her rescue organization in 1999, Richin had 13 bulldogs that needed homes. Last year, she had 218. “This breed is so popular right now, and people fall in love with the dog’s face and buy it on impulse without doing their homework,” she said. “Then, when the dog ends up being too ‘needy’ or too expensive, people give them up.”

I returned to the University of Georgia last November to meet the school’s new mascot, Uga VIII (nicknamed Big Bad Bruce). It had been nearly a year since the death of Uga VII. Like each of his predecessors, he was formally laid to rest in a mausoleum in the southwest corner of Sanford Stadium.