By Rachel Royster | Editor-in-Chief
Judge Joy Reynolds died peacefully on Monday while surrounded by her caretakers, staff and veterinary team.
On July 14, the Bear Habitat Team made an announcement on social media asking for continued prayers as Joy’s health had begun to concern them.
“Recent scans show compression on the spine, causing limitations on mobility,” the post read. “Combined with other age-related health concerns & the ongoing arthritis, the prognosis is not good.”
Dr. Kevin Jackson, vice president of student life, said a team of caretakers made the decision to put her down as her health condition began to deteriorate beyond help.
“We’ve been monitoring her for some time now,” Jackson said. “We have a bear program where our No. 1 goal is the health of our bears. As we worked with our veterinary team, we saw that her condition was starting to deteriorate.”
He also said the veterinary team had made several trips to have MRIs and other diagnostic medical procedures done. After reviewing different options to help her, Jackson said it was apparent they were not going to be able to have a medical intervention that would help her.
Jackson said he will always remember visiting Joy each year on their shared birthday, Jan. 27.
“Joy lived a full and vibrant life, and we will cherish those experiences,” Jackson said. “We feel fortunate that we will be able to work with Lady, who is still part of our bear program. She will also now take on even an additional role as our bear mascot.”
After arriving on campus as a rambunctious 4-month-old cub, Joy spent 21 years foraging for treats, smiling in her vet care natural behavior classes, napping in the shade and throwing a Sic ’em for visitors.
“It’s just a beautiful relationship to see how she responded to our students and how they responded to her,” Jackson said. “That’s one of the reasons why it makes this so very, very difficult. There’s going to be a void in our heart at the loss of Joy. We’re proud of our student leaders in the bear program and all the things they’ve done to create that kind of environment for her and for Lady.”
In a press release, the university announced its hopes to receive two rescue American Black Bear cubs next year and for Lady, who is a year younger than Joy, to retire.
“[The new cubs will] continue Baylor’s tradition of having live bear mascots reside in the heart of campus and continue their unique mission of stewardship, education and conservation for the local community and beyond,” the press release read.
Baylor will also hold a remembrance service for Joy early in the fall semester once students fully return to campus.
