So her human is taking her on a trip of a lifetime.
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When Robert Kugler’s dog was diagnosed with cancer, he was given two options: amputate her leg or put her down.
Kugler was told in May that a suspected shoulder injury in Bella was actually advanced osteosarcoma. Now who do you imagine taking the drive with?
Robert Kugler: “I feel like right now this is my goal. It’s the chapter in my life right now is just exploring with my dog”, he said.
Doctors gave Bella just six three to six months left to live previous year; she’s survived much longer than that, but Kugler knows Bella’s time is drawing short.
They started at the Marine Corps Ball in Chicago, then to Cleveland, Niagara Falls, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., before heading south to soak up a little sun.
They travelled across states including Detroit, Kentucky and OH, checking out the sunset, Niagara Falls, monuments, museums and the Adirondack Mountains in NY.
A ballgame at Turner Field in Atlanta followed, and every city has yielded a new adventure.
Bella and Kugler have either camped out in his Toyota 4Runner or couch-surfed with his friends along the way.
Now, 14 months on, Bella is still going strong and the pair are still travelling the country together.
Rob says he’s dealt with a lot of deaths of close loved ones this decade, so this journey is helping him too.
He’s conscious that time is working against them, but Kugler is trying to stay positive and inspire others.
“I’ve just seen first-hand what happens when you don’t do what you want to do in your life and that’s that you don’t get to do it”, he said.
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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. Kugler says he’s not sure when their tour will end.
