For as long as Cat Kukla can remember, her dog Bear has been her constant. From the moment she met him as a child in a shelter, he wasn’t just a pet — he was family. Through every chapter of her life, Bear had been there. And there was one moment she always dreamed he’d witness.
“I wasn’t the kind of girl who dreamed of a big wedding,” Cat said. “But I did dream of Bear being at my wedding — riding in a little red wagon. That part I always knew.”
When she met her now-husband, Jimmy, in 2011, Bear welcomed him without hesitation. Even when Cat went off to college, Jimmy would make sure Bear visited her every weekend. The three became inseparable — a tight, loving little pack.
But as Bear grew older, every extra year felt like a gift. Then, just one week before their long-planned wedding in 2018, Bear’s health took a sudden, heartbreaking turn. He was hospitalized at the VCA Veterinary Emergency Service & Specialty Center, and it became painfully clear that he might not make it to the big day.
That’s when Cat looked at Jimmy and said the words that would change everything.
“I asked, ‘Should we just get married at the vet so Bear can be there?’ And Jimmy said, without missing a beat, ‘I’d marry you any day, any time.’”
The veterinary staff, deeply moved by the couple’s devotion, rallied behind the idea. Friends and family pitched in to make the impromptu wedding happen — not for the venue, not for the spectacle, but for one beautiful reason: Bear.
On the day of the ceremony, Bear was gently wheeled into the hallway of the vet clinic in a little red wagon, just as Cat had always pictured. He was weak, groggy from treatment — but the moment he saw his people, something changed.
“We picked that spot in the hallway because there was a photo on the wall that looked just like Bear,” Cat said. “It felt like it was meant to be.”
As vows were exchanged, Bear sat up, alert and watching. Then something even more miraculous happened — he stood up. After days of barely moving, Bear walked outside, slowly but surely, as if drawing strength from love alone.
“He walked a lot that day,” Cat recalled. “It felt like he found a second wind just to be there for us.”
A week later, the couple celebrated their originally planned wedding — but no moment could compare to the one shared with Bear in that quiet hallway.
Now, as Bear’s health begins to fade again, Cat and Jimmy are cherishing every moment. If given the choice again, they’d hold that vet clinic wedding a thousand times over.
“All the planning, all the stress — none of it mattered,” Cat said. “What mattered was marrying the love of my life, with Bear right there beside us.”
