Renowned burn specialist Dr. Richard Grossman has treated some of the worst burn survivors — he’s even treated numerous celebrities. But until February, he’s never treated a burned puppy. Nor did he expect all the publicity that would follow. The story of how the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital, together with the Pet Emergency Clinic and Specialty Hospital in Thousand Oaks came together to bring two severely burned pups back to health has captured the public’s imagination, giving the businesses that helped heal the pups as much attention as the little guys themselves. Publicity was not on Dr. Grossman’s mind when he got the call asking him for advice on what to do with the tiny creatures with burns across 65 percent of their bodies. When he saw the puppies, he didn’t think they had any shot at survival. Dr. Grossman would have typically grafted healthy skin on the burns, but the only healthy skin was on the puppies’ tummies, which they needed to sleep. So Dr. Grossman taught the staff at the center how to clean the wounds and change the dressing. Over the next two months, he visited the dogs twice a week, guiding the nurses. Pretty soon, the pups’ wounds began to heal. Said Dr. Grossman, “It wasn’t me. It was the man upstairs.” The heartwarming story has found its way onto the front page of newspapers and local television, making the little pups famous and giving both the emergency clinic and the Grossman Burn Center the kind of publicity that money simply can’t buy. “It’s not like we sent him (Dr. Grossman) out to get the publicity,” said Grossman Burn Center Communications Director Cathy Butter. “We couldn’t stop him. And then the press followed.” The puppies, Natalia and Phoenix, have been adopted and will be therapy dogs at the Grossman Burn Center. “They’ll be an inspiration to the patients,” Dr. Grossman said. “If the dog can do it, you can do it.”
Doctor Has a Case of Puppy Love
