Marine Vet Takes His Terminally Ill Dog On Epic Road Trip

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Robert Kugler, a former Marine from Omaha, Nebraska, was devastated to find out that his dog Bella was suffering from an incurable form of cancer known as osteosarcoma. Bella had to have her front leg amputated from cancer in the bone, so Robert decided he wasn't going to go to work every day, just to come home and find Bella was gone.

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What he did was decide to take his beloved pup, which he adopted nine years ago, on an epic five-month cross-country road trip. Fourteen months later, they are on their second trip across the U.S.

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They started small by just heading to Chicago for the Marine Corps Ball, however, the duo kept going east. They stopped in upstate New York and then drove down to Philadelphia. They traveled to D.C. to show Bella some of the countries landmarks and then down to Florida to soak up some sun, stopping in Atlanta to catch a Braves game at Turner Field.

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Kugler is no stranger to tragedy and loss. He stated, "I just saw firsthand 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,” said Kugler."

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Many people have come out in support of the duo, Kugler stating that people send messages like, “’Please don't stop, keep going’. ‘In any way that we can help let us know.’ And the biggest way is just to have a place to crash when we hit their area,”

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Bella is still going strong and you can follow her and Robert's adventures at rklifeillustrated.com and instagram.com/robkugler.