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2 Badly-Burned Puppies Find Permanent Homes

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — It was a dog's life Saturday -- and party time -- for Natalia and Phoenix, two puppies burned in a Kern County house fire in February.

The two puppies, about six weeks old at the time of the blaze, were both badly burned.

They were nursed back to health and today a big celebration in Thousand Oaks for the duo who have b0th found permanent homes.

A host of volunteers helped save the puppies, including well-known burn specialist Dr. A. Richard Grossman of Grossman Burn Center fame.

Dr. Grossman initially believed the dogs were burned so badly that they had little chance to survive."Lo and behold, days went by and these giant wounds -- head to tail -- started to get better."

Two other puppies did not recover. Phoenix (a brown dachshund mix) and Natalia (a black-and-white pit bull) both suffered third-degree burns.

Natalia was adopted by one of Dr. Grossman's nurses. Phoenix was adopted by a veterinary assistant who cared for her.

Phoenix and Natalia will train to become full-time, full-fledged therapy dogs. The hope is, both dogs can work with children who have also suffered burn injuries.

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