Americans have some fairly odd traditions, or at least they might be considered strange in other places. As a nation, we are devoted to our pets, spending billions of dollars every year on everything from their care to their finery. Texas A&M University is also very serious about their mascot: a dog named Reveille. Since there have been many mascots down through the years with that name, they have an honorary burial area and it has an electronic scoreboard.
In 1931, a stray female dog was found by some of the students at Texas A&M and every time the bugler played reveille, the dog howled. The name Reveille was given to the dog and a school mascot was born. Over the years, many female dogs have taken the mascot position and were given the same level of respect as she is considered of the same rank as a five star general. Almost all were Collies. As each of the succeeding mascots passed, they were interred with honors and given a burial position to face the scoreboard. Texas A&M played a great role and assisted the U.S. Army during World War II. One of the ways that the Army showed its appreciation was to give Reveille an official Cadet General (five diamond) ranking.
