One of the traditions at Texas A&M University is that of Reveille, the mascot. Most know Reveille today as a full-blood Collie, but the original Reveille was actually a mutt.

The story goes that there was a car full of Aggies coming back to school after a weekend in Houston, who came across a dog that had been hit by a car. The dog was fine, but the Aggies loaded the dog up, nonetheless, and brought her back to their barracks. That night, the dog slept on the couch in the barracks lobby.

When reveille was blown in the morning for muster, Reveille began barking and waking up the entire barracks along with the bugler. She soon became a bit of her own Reveille and began to bark just before the bugler blew, hence the name, Reveille.

The other aspect of the story that I was told was that she would also sleep anywhere she liked. So if she hopped up on your bed at night, you had to sleep on the couch in the lobby.  Thus, the tradition was born.

When she died, they buried her just outside Kyle Field where, looking through the tunnel into Kyle Field, so she could still see the score board. With the new renovations, the Aggies had to add a score board on the edge of the grave site. You can see the final score of the game my boys and I watched.

All photos are copyright © Timothy J. Hammons, 2022.