As the semester comes to a close, Reveille VII will retire and no replacement mascot has not been decided on yet.
On Feb. 13 at the Corps Center Reveille VII’s retirement was officially announced. Many opinions began circulating about what breed of dog her replacement should be. Many people said Reveille VIII should be another American collie and keep with the tradition.
Some said she should be a mutt like Reveille I. In addition, there were students who said the next Reveille should be rescued from a pound, regardless of the breed.
Dean Bresciani, vice president for student affairs, established a committee in response to these opinions to help decide what criteria should be looked at in choosing Reveille VIII. Now what needs to be known is when a new Reveille will be introduced.
“It’s hard to say,” Bresciani said. “It’ll depend on when we find a suitable replacement.”
An email was sent Thursday by Bresciani detailing what criteria the committee decided necessary for Reveille VIII.
“She is very likely to be a collie-like dog. Something that looks similar to a collie,” Bresciani said.
According to the e-mail, there is a possibility that the next mascot will be a golden retriever. But the most unusual thing about the selection is that it is likely the next mascot will have been trained as a service dog.
Bresciani said that because of all the stress that is put on a mascot, the committee thought a service dog that did not work for its initial purpose, would be a good idea for a mascot because it has been trained to work well and handle noise.
Another thing the committee decided was adoption from a pound was not an option.
“When we studied that, it was a great idea,” Bresciani said, “but in reality it would be very difficult to know anything about the dog’s history or breeding.”
During the summer, University administration and the College of Veterinary Medicine will look for a suitable Reveille VIII. She will be about one and a half years old.
“E-2 will continue to be the mascot’s outfit in charge of Reveille’s daily care,” Brescani said. “Sometime during the fall semester, we would like to introduce the new Reveille to campus.”