UPDATE 12/9/25:

Stella passed away last night at 7:50pm at Penn Veterinary Hospital. She was gradually starting to improve Sunday at Red Bank Mount Laurel; her ketones and blood glucose were finally dropping, and we were looking forward to helping her eat. By Monday morning, a new doctor called and told us she was declining rapidly and could pass at any moment. She said that if it were her pet, she would euthanize. Stella was still fighting and trying to move her body and drink water. The doctor was adamant that Stella’s exhaustion, labored breathing, elevated sodium, and extreme body acidity had nothing to do with the medications she was receiving. Her blood glucose skyrocketed despite being on a constant insulin drip and NG tube nutrition. The doctor slammed a door in our face and was extremely blunt & uncompassionate when we asked about her treatments and possible side effects they could cause.

Red Bank was incapable of treating Stella further, so we transferred her to Penn to receive critical care. They started treatment immediately and couldn’t understand why her levels were at the numbers they were based on the treatments provided by Red Bank. She somehow developed kidney problems and crackling in her lungs. It didn’t make sense that she was improving Sunday and then crashed suddenly after different doctors took over her care overnight at Red Bank.

Thankfully, Stella went on her own terms later in the evening while we were on the phone with the vet at Penn. She waited to hear our voices and prevented us from having to make a heartbreaking decision.

The team at Penn will be doing an autopsy to investigate her cause of death & we will be looking into next steps toward legal action.

This never should have happened. We did everything Red Bank told us to do and we ended up losing our little girl. We asked for help over the course of months and were ignored. To rub salt into the wound, we still have to pay upwards of $15,000 for hospital stays that never should have been.

Stella Dora Mele

(6/16/19–12/8/25)

UPDATE 12/5/25:

Stella has developed another bout of pancreatitis and DKA.

On 11/12, she went to the ER for hypoglycemia induced seizures, and was then told to lower her insulin dose & increase the frequency of her feedings. She had a glucose monitor installed, but it was defective. I contacted her care team for help acquiring a prescription for a new CGM, but they never responded. If I had access to her blood glucose readings, we might never have ended up where we are today.

The hospital is estimating that she will need to be treated for at least 2-4 days, if not more, and gave me a quote of around $11,000 for this round of treatments.

I'm truly devastated and want my little girl to get the treatment she needs so she can get back to being her bubbly self, but I need a lot of help to make it happen.

Everyone knows and loves Stella, my 6 year old baby. She’s a Welsh Pembroke Corgi and is the star of our neighborhood. She loves to give kisses to everyone she meets and has the most magnificent wiggly butt you’ve ever seen.

She has been having some health problems recently that have progressed rapidly, and we need some help paying for the immediate & long-term care she will need.

After experiencing excessive thirst, frequent urination, and daily vomiting, she was diagnosed with diabetic ketoacidosis, which can be fatal if not treated properly and promptly. Along with the DKA is pancreatitis and a urinary tract infection. After visiting an urgent care and an emergency vet in the same day, Stella is now requiring a 2-4 night ER stay to stabilize her enough to bring her home for long term diabetic treatment. The emergency vet hospital has given us an estimate of around $10,000 for her stay on top of the other charges I’ve incurred from urgent care.

We’re unsure of how much her at-home insulin treatment will be, but have been told it will be costly. We’ve already maxed out her insurance for the year, so we need all the financial help we can get to keep our little girl in our lives.

UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who has donated so far! Stella needs an NG tube to help her get some nutrients asap, but she didn’t tolerate the vet trying to place it, so we need to visit her and see if she’ll eat any food orally for us. Fingers crossed

UPDATE:

The vet managed to anesthetize Stella and place a feeding tube for her to finally get some nutrients back in her body. He said she is NOT a fan of it, but she’s tolerating it so thats a significant improvement!

Her pancreas is still angry, so they need to give her medicine to calm that down, which means she’ll need to remain hospitalized for at least another day.

The downside of all of this means her payment estimate has increased from $10,000 to $12,000. While the money is alarming, I’m so grateful for credit cards and the donations we’ve received so far. I know people will think I’m insane for putting this much money into a pet, but Stella is truly our baby, and our house is empty without her here, so I’ll agree to whatever amount of money they need to help her. There’s always more money to be found down the line, but there’s only one Stella.

UPDATE 5/2:

We visited Stella again and she ate a whole serving of chicken! We took her for a walk and she went potty (1 AND 2!) and walked around half of the hospital perimeter! It definitely tired her out, so she’s earned a nap for sure. She’ll get another dose of her pancreas medicine tonight, and if all goes according to plan, we’re hoping she’ll be able to come home tomorrow!