Raising Funds for Fire Refugee Kitten

You can call him Amazing Grace or you can call him Bernie — he's a survivor, one part orphan, fire refugee and fire victim.

Encina Veterinary Hospital on Ygnacio Valley Road, Walnut Creek, is staging a fund-raiser for the medical care of 4-week-old Bernie, whose paws were burned in the May 23 fire on Bethel Island.

A neighbor brought Bernie to Encina after the fire displaced families of feral cats. The neighbor believed that the mother kitten could only carry one kitten to safety and left Bernie behind, according to the Encina blog. Bernie suffered burned paw pads, whiskers burned off, eye irritation and smoke in his lungs.

From the Encina blog: "The best part is that Bernie has nuzzled his way into the heart of one of our other Registered Veterinary Technicians, Nicole, and has found his furever home already!"