Dying Paralyzed Veteran Granted Final Wish of Seeing Horses

A seriously ill paralyzed Vietnam veteran in Texas had one final wish — to see his two best friends, according to a report by WALB.

The man’s two best friends, Sugar and Ringo, are horses that he has trained and raised for a long time.

“Horses are his life,” Rosario Gonzales told reporters of her husband, Roberto. “We’ve been training and raising horses for 30, 40 years.”

Roberto is one of the only disabled licensed horse trainers in Texas. He had been in Vietnam for just a few months before being shot and injured on May 21, 1970, which left him paralyzed.

He recently went to the hospital for a wound on his back, which is when it was discovered he also needed treatment for liver problems and that his kidneys were starting to shut down.

Knowing he did not have much time left, Roberto’s dying wish was to see Sugar and Ringo a final time.

That wish was granted on the 46th-anniversary of his life-changing injury.

“When the horses came up to him, he actually opened his eyes,” Rosario said. “They came up to him and I think they were actually kissing him.”