It was the worst possible news you could get about your best buddy.
Bone cancer, so a leg is amputated. But it gets worse. The cancer’s spread to the lungs. Now it’s a terminal condition.
So what do you do?
Robert Kugler decided to take his best friend — a three-legged chocolate lab named Bella — on one last, legendary ride.
“This is one of the biggest connections I’ve ever had to another living being. I don’t care that it’s a dog,” said Kugler, who’s from Broken Bow, Nebraska.
Doctors gave Bella just six three to six months left to live last year; she’s survived much longer than that, but Kugler knows Bella’s time is drawing short. He said a few weeks ago, he watched her, playing in the waters on a beach and envisioned a peaceful end for her.
“Some days I’m completely prepared. I pictured her just swimming out to sea,” he said. “But there’s other days when I’m like, oh my God, I can’t bear the thought of it.”
But whenever and wherever it happens, he’ll be with her. It’s part of the job of being best buds with a dog.
“We take on these animals, which means we’re gonna take on their life and their passing,” Kugler said. “To be there with them when they pass is the greatest gift you can give anybody.”
When Bella’s gone Kugler said he’ll volunteer more, like he has in the past for organizations that help veterans, like Team Rubicon and Team Red, White & Blue. And yes, he’ll continue to hit the open road.
“I want the freedom to travel. I don’t want a home that’ll keep me in one spot.”
Until then, Kugler thinks we should all be a little more like Bella: “Wag more; bark less.”
