Community Steps Up To Help Well-Known Veteran Whose Dog Needed Surgery

EAST HAVEN, CT —Michel Roy begins his GoFundMe plea, reminding folks of who he is. Anyone who lived in East Haven during the pandemic, especially during the lockdown, knows him well. Roy's 'East Haven Proud' truck that traveled through neighborhoods blasting uplifting, and sometimes patriotic music, raised spirits.

A veteran with PTSD, in 2021, his dog Stella, who he's described as his "world" needed surgery. Then, just last week, Roy shared that Stella was once again ill and required another surgery, this time it was an emergency. So he created a GoFundMe.

"You may know me as the man that drove around playing music throughout the streets of East Haven every single night collecting food and donations for the East Haven food pantry, and doing things just to cheer up my community in East Haven during hard times when Covid has us lock in our houses called the East Haven proud USA truck. I am a marine veteran that served my country for 2 1/2 years during those 21/2 years I sustained a TBI and several other injuries and once I got out of the Marines I needed someone to help me cope with my depression and PTSD that is when I came along Stella. Stella has been with me through thick and thin, she has always been by my side. I am now reaching out because I need your help to save my dog Stella's life. Stella is an absolute amazing dog, and she has helped me through a lot. She is currently in the ICU emergency room and has been there for the last 3 days and she has had one major emergency surgery already in the last 3 days because her spleen had a mass that was causing a major bleed in her abdomen, and now she’s battling a fever, pneumonia and some heart issues. This is going to be very costly, around $14,000, please help me save my dog. She means the absolute world to me. Any additional money donated will be used for additional medication, therapy and doctors visits because it's going to get very expensive. I hope you can help any amount matters. If you can’t donate, please share this. Stella and I love you all."

Since he posted it, she's undergone the necessary surgery and Roy has posted more than 20 updates on GoFundMe. She's out of the woods, but he said, "Stella needs many more meds, follow-up exams, X-rays, and blood tests," and possibly more, he added.

Roy hopes to raise a total of $14,000 and to date, has raised around $3,600 since he first created the GoFundMe late last week.