COLE    Date of Birth: 6/9/07    Story Submitted: 1/18/08    Diagnosed at 7 weeks with    Congenital megaesophagus complicated by a sliding hiatal hernia.    Surgical correction of sliding hiatus.    External feeding (tube feeding).    Pneumonia.

We were blessed with the opportunity to foster a mother husky and her nine puppies this summer through Husky House. We named the mommy “Hope,” as this is what she stood for — Hope for these nine tiny babies. Hope had been rescued from being euthanized at a shelter in Tennessee and driven up to New Jersey with her three-week old babies. The beautiful package of ten came to us, flea infested and in need of a warm, safe place and a little tender care.

There was always something a little different about Cole—his frequent vomiting, the respiratory infection that only he got at five weeks of age, the unusual way that he breathed, his constant yearning to be held... We brought him to his Veterinarian three times within a few weeks, sensing that something was wrong with this little one.

When the pups were seven weeks old, we rushed Cole to Garden State Veterinary Specialists. He was immediately diagnosed with megaesophagus. After two days of testing to determine the cause and countless failed attempts to feed Cole orally, the doctor’s reluctantly did a scope on Cole, who was by this time exhausted and starving. They feared he would not survive the anesthesia which was necessary to perform the endoscopy, but this was his last hope.

As I sat playing with Hope and the puppies to gather their scent on a homemade blanket to bring to Cole, fearing that this would be his last night, we received the most amazing phone call. Cole was being rushed into surgery to correct a hiatal hernia (they also called it a “sliding stomach”). His stomach had slid up within his chest cavity and gotten stuck, causing the respiratory distress and worsening the megaesophagus symptoms.

He made it through surgery and had a feeding tube inserted. Cole’s prognosis was poor, and the doctors released him a week later, at just 6 lbs, with little hope that he would survive long term.

After intensive treatment and care, including round the clock feedings, trips to the hospital at least once a week, daily consults with our most wonderful ACVIM Veterinary Specialists at Garden State, and constant supervision in ICU, Cole showed us what HOPE is really all about.

Cole's recovery, spirit and energy have amazed us. All of us!

Despite our apprehension about having four dogs (we already had two rescues, Rocky & Timber), we were in love with Cole and Hope, and soon realized that they had already found their “forever” home.

Cole has beaten the odds — he has adjusted to living with megaesophagus, recovered from a bought of pneumonia that sent his fever to 105 degrees and put him in ICU. We had been a bit concerned that he might never shed his feeding tube, but he did! We were thrilled to bring him home and reunite him with his siblings just days before their adoptions were to take place. And, best of all, he has become an energetic, happy-go-lucky puppy!

We are humbled by Cole’s amazing spirit. He has taught us that miracles can happen, and that we need to believe that with a little “hope” and a lot of hard work, we can make them happen. Cole is our miracle, and we are truly blessed to have him in our lives.