Stella's Emergency Vet Visits

Hey everybody, welcome back to another episode of Dog Vlog!

In this week's segment, we discuss what's been going on with Stella...

We don't really know how to start this conversation, so we'll jump into it and list all of the events thus far...

-On May 22, 2021, we noticed that Stella had trouble catching her breath whenever exercising. After a 30 minute run she would have this deep guttural, almost donkey sounding vibration that would occur in her throat. We took her to a vet in Los Angeles and after a full exam and x-rays, they stated that she had kennel cough and prescribed her with antibiotics. After 4 weeks, her difficulty with breathing was still present and a bit more pronounced.

-June 24, 2021 Stella then saw another vet in Vermont who, after hearing her breathe, said she had laryngeal paralysis. OH THE IRONY. This is the same diagnosis that Drew has! I guess owners and their dogs really are family...

The vet suggested having either an operation or a steroid shot done to have her breathing be easier.

- Back in LA, July 26, 2021 Stella stopped eating and was throwing up mucus and bile. We rushed her to the vet where she had to be hospitalized for 3 days. They said because of her Laryngeal Paralysis (Lar Par), she now had Megaesophagus which caused her to have pneumonia in her lungs.

(Drew and Stella on one of her visitation days)

(Stella with big smiles for when mom picked her up on the 3rd day)

-August 12, 2021 We had our plan. We talked with our good friend Sara Carson (The Super Collies) and were able to connect with this incredible vet in Lexington, Kentucky who would be able to assess Stella's Lar Par and help us with some answers.

Well... during the visit, the doctor said that Stella's right pupil wasn't dilating.

She feared that because of the Lar Par, the Megaesophagus, and now the right pupil not responding appropriately, that Stella had a neurological degenerative disease.

Oh, and I forgot to mention amongst all of this, Stella's cancer came back. We found a lump on her back left leg and had it tested for mast cell and it came back positive.

SO. New plan, schedule an appointment with a neurologist in Los Angeles and have her fully screened for September. Okay, we got this.

-August 16, 2021 I noticed a growth on the bottom of her back left paw pad. At first we had thought that it was a foxtail grass seed implanted in her foot, but fearing that it was the cancer spreading, we rushed to have a biopsy.

... turns out it was just a wort. Viral papaloma.

... better safe than sorry?

Okay, so this is important.

Since her back left leg was bandaged, we knew she would be limping, but we didn't focus on how she was walking. I.e. she should be using the three other legs, not the bandaged, right?

-August 23, 2021, Stella wasn't using her right front leg to it's fullest extent and it was cool to the touch. Since we were driving back from Madison, Wisconsin, we searched through Stella's instagram Direct Messages to find the cardiologist who said she would perform an Echocardiogram on Stella if an emergency came up.

Stella was diagnosed with a level 2 heart murmur and having a small leak in the mitral valve.

For fear of a clot occurring, we rushed Stella to the emergency room when we arrived in Indianapolis.

After the initial exam, the vets transferred her to Purdue University, an hour and a half away.

After a 6 hour visit with the emergency neurologist team, they suggested that she have MRI imaging done.

Which brings us to today, August 26, 2021. Stella is admitted at the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary Hospital Emergency Department and is being examined to see how they can go about taking her images without any complications of putting her under due to her Lar Par/ Megaesophagus/Pneumonia.

We still don't know exactly what's going on with her. But presently, it seems as though she does have a neurological degenerative disease.

Although Stella has insurance, we fear that because of the multiple visits across many states, some of the visits and operations won't be covered.

We are hoping that we won't need to use the full amount raised for her medical bills, but if there are any leftover donations, we plan on donating the money to the hospitals who have helped Stella thus far and create a fund for Service Dogs who aren't able to cover their emergency medical bills.

Thank you all for your love and support for Stella. She is a special girl and has loved meeting you all on the road, online, and on walks.

I'll continue to update on how her visits go on here and on her instagram (@morefamousthanmydad)

Thank you for your continued support

Much love,

Drew, Mel, and Stella