Police to Stick by Shelter Intruder at Auction : Quest to Adopt Dog Faces Another Test

All David E. Mills wanted, Los Angeles police say, was to replace a dog killed in a car accident in July with one he saw at the West Valley Animal Shelter in Chatsworth.

But Mills’ method of doing so has proved full of obstacles. It landed him in jail Tuesday night, sent him to court Wednesday and probably will pit him against other animal lovers in an auction for the dog this morning.

At 2 a.m. Tuesday, the Northridge man was arrested on suspicion of attempting to steal a white, 2-year-old boxer from the shelter. As a police helicopter circled overhead, he was caught on the roof, holding the dog he snatched after climbing down a ladder into the kennel area, police said.

Mills tried to take the dog because he thought the boxer would be destroyed before he could come up with the cash to buy it, according to police. But detectives at the Devonshire Division police station in Northridge sympathized with Mills, a handyman at a senior-citizens center, and took up a collection so he could buy the dog.

Mills, 30, pleaded guilty Wednesday in San Fernando Municipal Court to trespassing after a burglary charge was dropped. He was sentenced to two years’ probation, and police gave him $52 to buy the dog.

But Mills’ quest didn’t end there.

Expected to Bid for Dog

Mills is expected to return to the scene of his arrest at 8 a.m. today to bid in an auction for the dog he tried to take three days earlier.

Unfortunately for Mills, news reports have aroused the interest of other would-be dog purchasers, and they are expected to bid for the dog, too.

About 10 people have phoned this week to ask about buying the dog, including one San Diego man “who thought it might be the dog he lost two years ago,” said Lt. Linda Gordon, a shelter supervisor. Others who earlier had looked at the dog with an eye toward adoption may also attend the auction, she said.

The male dog was a stray picked up in Canoga Park on Sept. 18, Gordon said. The city Department of Animal Regulation requires the shelter to offer such dogs at auction, even if there is little interest from prospective pet owners, she said.

The possibility that Mills may not get the dog worries the police officers who came to his aid.

“It’s kind of boomeranged on us,” Detective Sharon Levin said. “We were hoping for a nice reunion with the man and the dog.”

She said the police station has been flooded with calls by people offering to contribute money, donate dog food or supply free services such as dog grooming.

Offer From Woman

A Los Angeles woman said she might go to the auction and purchase the dog for Mills if the bidding goes too high for him, Levin said.

Levin said that she and two other detectives will attend as well, possibly giving Mills more money if it is needed.

“You see so much sleaze and people doing things for base motivations, but this case wasn’t like that at all,” the detective said Thursday. “He just wanted the dog. . . .

“We’re kind of determined to see this be a happy ending.”