Reveille X, the sable‑and‑white Rough Collie whose gentle gaze commands respect as Texas A&M’s beloved “First Lady of Aggieland,” felt an unfamiliar warmth behind her right eye in the midsummer heat of July. It began as a slight cloudiness—nothing that would deter her regal posture atop Rev Force One as she surveyed the campus—until one morning her Mascot Corporals noticed a furtive squint, a softly furrowed brow in the usually serene Miss Rev.
Within hours, the veterinary team at Texas A&M’s Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital confirmed what no Aggie wanted to hear: glaucoma and suspicious tissue, signaling emergent action. With steady hands and compassionate hearts, the veterinarians prepared her for surgery, determined — out of an abundance of caution — to remove her eye and relieve pain while protecting her future. The decision was precise. The result: her right eye was removed successfully, and she emerged from anesthesia calm, breathing quietly.
In the days that followed, Miss Rev rested in a quiet suite at the veterinary hospital, curling back into a bed of soft blankets. Her handler, Mascot Corporal Josh Brewton, sat close, brushing gentle strokes through her thick mane of fur—threads of sable and white—and whispering promises of her return to crowds and cheers. Though shaved patches marked her flank from intravenous lines, her dignity remained unwavering. She looked out the open bay window at a pale Texas sky, the whisper of cicadas below recalling game‑day energies she’d miss for now.
On campus, news of her surgery pierced the hearts of thousands. Emails arrived from alumni and students: old Aggies shared photos of past Reveilles; current students sent handwritten cards, urging their beloved Collie to heal swiftly. Reveille X—born September 5, 2019 in Topeka, Kansas, and installed as the university’s mascot in May 2021—had long earned her place in Aggie lore, guiding classes, football games, and spirit events with steadfast loyalty.
Yet here she lay, temporarily sidelined, her future still bound to tradition. In press statements, University President Gen. Mark A. Welsh III emphasized that her recovery was the priority and heralded Reveille as resting comfortably—and already on her road back. By fall, she was expected to resume her duties: riding Rev Force One, attending Aggie classes, cheering on the Aggies at Kyle Field, and—crucially—keeping campus squirrels in line.
In dreamlike scenes, corporate memories of past Reveilles flickered: the first Reveille barked in response to the reveille bugle in 1931; all her predecessors now rest outside the north end of Kyle Field, paws pointed toward the stadium, forever watching as the Aggies triumph. Reveille X now joins this lineage in spirit, carrying forward their legacy even as she heals.
One evening near sunset, Brewton wheeled her gently outside. She sensed the breeze, the hum of distant footsteps, the flicker of twilight over the Quad. And in that moment, despite missing an eye, she embodied resolve: the same unbroken spirit that has made her mascot lineage iconic. She would return, not diminished, but more deeply cherished—for courage, for perseverance, for love. Fall awaited.
This fictional portrait stays grounded in the real facts: Reveille X underwent successful surgery in July 2025 to remove her right eye due to glaucoma and abnormal tissue, is recovering, and is expected to resume mascot duties in the fall semester.
