On July 19, the temperature was well over 100 in Reading. Animal-control officers found Bernie alone on an asphalt tile rooftop. He had also reportedly burned his back and his underside in what must have been a desperate effort to keep the searing heat from further eating through his paws.
Neighbors reported that he was trapped on the roof for 10 hours before his rescue, said Barry Pease, president of the Animal Rescue League of Berks County. The owner was never found.
By then the dog had third-degree burns on every paw pad. In a "before" picture, his paws looked as raw as hamburger. A shelter veterinarian treated him with sterile dressing and fluids before bringing the dog to Boyd Wagner, a veterinarian at Wyomissing Animal Hospital.
"I gasped," Wagner said. "I'd never seen anything that severe before." The shelter workers feared they might have to put the dog down because of his pain, he said.
Wagner said one of his clients ran Celavet Inc., which creates stem-cell treatments for animals. It makes stem cells, he said, that have been used to treat joint problems in dogs and horses.
Because the company had no FDA approval to use the stem cells for burns, Wagner asked if he could obtain them on a compassionate basis. He sent the FDA pictures of the dog's raw, angry skin, and the agency gave its approval, provided that he documented the animal's progress.
On July 26, Wagner put Bernie under general anesthetic and injected Celavet stem cells into all pads. "At first his paws were more inflamed than before, but then they started healing," Wagner said. He replaced the dressing on Bernie's paws every Monday, he said, each time charting his condition.
