Retired A&M mascot Reveille VII dead at age 12

Texas A&M University'e new mascot Reveille VII looks at the crowd during her debut before the start of the basketball game between Texas A&M and Missouri Saturday, Feb. 17, 2001, in College Station, Texas. (AP Photo/Bryan-College Station Eagle/Butch Ireland) HOUCHRON CAPTION (02/23/2002): Texas A&M University's mascot Reveille 7 made her debut at a basketball game last year between Texas A&M and Missouri in College Station. less Texas A&M University'e new mascot Reveille VII looks at the crowd during her debut before the start of the basketball game between Texas A&M and Missouri Saturday, Feb. 17, 2001, in College Station, ... more Photo: BUTCH IRELAND, MBR Photo: BUTCH IRELAND, MBR Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close Retired A&M mascot Reveille VII dead at age 12 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

Reveille VII, a retired collie mascot at Texas A&M University, died Thursday, university officials confirmed.

The female canine retired in 2008 after about seven years on the job and had lived with a College Station couple, Paul and Tina Gardner.

Born in October 2000, Reveille was 12 years old, said Paul Gardner.

About three days ago, the dog seemed to be feeling ill, so the Gardners took her to the university veterinary hospital where she had received treatment since becoming mascot.

Not long after the staff examined her, they decided to do surgery to repair a hole in her digestive tract which had led to infection, Gardner said.

Although Reveille seemed to respond well the first couple days, "she had too much wrong with her" and had to be euthanized Thursday morning, he said.

Dr. Stacy Eckman, a staff member at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine who had been Reveille VII's regular veterinarian, said the team caring for the dog at the end had talked about putting her on a mechanical ventilator but opted instead to assist her breathing with a tube.

"There were multiple doctors involved in the decision," Eckman said. "We felt she would probably not survive coming off the ventilator to have any sort of quality of life."

Reveille was humanely euthanized about 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Eckman said.

Gardner, a 1966 A&M graduate and semi-retired financial planner, said Reveille enjoyed about an extra year of good health because she had received treatment for arthritis.

"She was Reveille right up to the end," he said.

As A&M mascots, the succession of dogs named Reveille appear at a host of events, from football games to weddings.

Reveille VI, who served as mascot from 1993 to 2001 and survived a prank dognapping, presumably at the hands of University of Texas students, was euthanized in October 2003 at age 10.

The first Reveille, a mixed breed rescued from the roadside in the early 1930s, earned her name by howling in response to the corps bugler as he played reveille to wake up the cadets, according to earlier Chronicle reports.

That dog died in January 1944 and received a formal military funeral on Kyle Field's 50-yard line.

The current mascot, Reveille VIII, was born in 2006.