MONEY CREEK, Minnesota (WXOW) -- Behind the southeastern Minnesota bluffs, tucked into a desolate valley, sits Mike Fogel's buffalo ranch.
He started raising these 1700 pound beasts 34 years ago. From his first day, Mike fell in love with the animals.
"Once I got my first bison, I thought, 'I don't wanna raise cattle. I wanna raise buffalo,'" Fogel says.
And his love of buffalo pushed him to tame one of his own. He named it Cody.
"I couldn't believe somebody could actually do that because of the nature of the animal," he says. "I decided I wanted to try that with a buffalo."
Cody starred in Hollywood films and commercials. But two years ago, Cody died of kidney failure.
"He became a good friend actually," Fogel says. "When we lost him, it was devastating."
Cody was 19 and a half years old.
"He was such a big part of our lives, and when he died, it was just empty," he says.
Mike built a memorial where Cody was buried.
Shortly after, he found another rare, but well-tempered buffalo, Cody 2.
With the new Cody, Mike was able to do what he loves again--work with the buffalo.
But health issues threatened Mike's relationship with Cody 1, and it wasn't long before that lingering threat snuck up on Mike again.
"In February, I found out that I had Hodgkin's Lymphoma," he says.
It was cancer. Mike started chemo in Rochester early this year. He lost his hair and energy, but even harder for Mike, he lost his time with Cody.
"The winter was a hard thing to go through," Fogel says. "Anyone who's gone through cancer realizes how devastating it can be on your life. It can turn your world upside down."
With the support of his family and friends and the urge to get out with his buffalo again, Mike persevered.
Now that Mike has a clean slate of health, he says you should want what you already have.
"It changes your perspective on life," he says. "You look at things a lot different."
With his new perspective, Mike carries on working with Cody, with a new understanding of life that only a few have.
When Mike's time comes, he wants to be buried on his farm, right next to his old friend.
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