Another Beautiful Roadtrip Story.
“Can I talk to you in the back room about these x-rays?” the vet asks, and my optimism suddenly does a one-eighty.” That’s the first line in chapter one of A Dog Named
Beautiful by Rob Kugler. And, as we all know, and Rob goes on to write, nothing good ever needed to be talked about in a back room of a veterinary hospital.
We can’t stop death. But we can change the way we live.
They hit the road together in Rob’s Toyota 4-Runner, and this is their story. Bella had a purpose and much more to teach her human. Rob learned many lessons along the way, including “that when life isn’t all about yourself, it’s actually much easier to live. I had almost given up on myself, but when I helped someone else, I was stronger than I’ve ever been.”
“Everybody has a story. Everybody journeys
through deep and narrow valleys in search of a land of kindness, a land of safety and belonging, a land called home. These similarities allow us to put aside our
differences and prejudices and grasp this vital Rob and his dog Beautiful. Bella, Rob’s black Labrador Retriever and his constant
companion, has just been diagnosed with advanced osteosarcoma. It has spread to her lungs and her front leg. His options are, the veterinarian tells him, to have the leg amputated to relieve the pain Bella is in, or put her down. The one constant in Rob’s
tumultuous life has been Bella. She has become his wise mentor, teach- ing him how little is needed in life to be happy. When U.S. Marine Rob Kugler returned from the war without his brother, who was killed in the fighting, he was beyond grief-stricken. He was lost, angry and full of guilt. He had thoughts of suicide. Bella is the
only one for whom he manages a smile. And now, he is
faced with one of the toughest battles of his life. Even with the leg amputated, the veterinarian gives the eight year old dog three to six months. This is not a story about loss, but one of discovery. It’s a story
about focusing on life in the now, because, as Bella reminds Rob, it’s not over — not yet anyway. During the six months following Bella’s surgery, Rob brings
her to the lake to swim. Swimming is her bliss, her second home. She has to re-learn how to swim with three legs, at first struggling to keep her head above water. With Rob’s help and patience, Bella becomes a strong swimmer again. They start taking short hikes together. But, Rob begins to question his own life, again. “I know I’m just waiting for Bella to die. My life’s been put
on hold until the cancer takes her,” he writes. Then, Bella passes the six month window her veterinarian gave her. What now?
www.TheNewBarker.com THE NEW BARKER 23
truth: that you love and hurt just like I do.” –A Dog Named Beautiful By Rob Kugler Flatiron Books
Their journey becomes a hit on social media as Rob posts
photographs with short entries on his Facebook page. Complete strangers from around the world relate to their journey and begin sharing their own stories. A couple from Sarasota, Florida invites Rob and Bella to come stay with them for a few days. They visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium and meet Winter, the dolphin with a prosthetic tail. Like The Pink Steering Wheel Chronicles, this sweet book,
A Dog Named Beautiful, is a love story that evolves with a road trip. Both books reinforce the importance of just being. And, to my surprise, there is also the symbolic presence of a sunflower. Both stories are about broken hearts finally finding their missing pieces.
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