Dogs That Died in Fire Were Headed for Show

The 21 dogs that died in a Sylmar house fire were pedigreed Shetland sheep dogs waiting to be shipped to the East Coast for a show and animal regulation officials said Tuesday they may file charges against the woman caring for them.

The dogs--which were in travel crates when the fire started Monday afternoon--all died of smoke inhalation. Two other dogs outside the house in the 13100 block of Bradley Avenue survived. A cat also died in the fire.

The resident of the house, Dorothea Adkins, said the dogs all belonged to different owners, but were temporarily at her house so she could take them to a show on the East Coast. Officials with the Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation said Adkins did not have the proper permits to keep that many dogs at her home.

Lt. Bob Pena said keeping that many dogs--even overnight--can be a violation of zoning and animal regulation laws. He said the city requires owners of four or more dogs to have a special permit.

Nearby residents in this neighborhood of large-lot homes said they never heard barking or noticed any dogs at the house. But Pena said animal regulation investigators believe Adkins regularly kept many dogs.

Pena said it will be at least a week before investigators decide whether to press charges against Adkins.

At the time of the fire, which investigators said was caused by a heating lamp, Adkins was taking another dog to the airport. She returned to find firefighters putting out the fire, and by then, all of her canine charges dead.

“If I had been here I’m sure I would have died trying to rescue those dogs,” Adkins said.

Firefighters tried to revive the dogs with oxygen and improvised cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques, but were unsuccessful, Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Bob Collis said.

Adkins said most of the owners had been contacted by Tuesday morning. Many of the carcasses had either been picked up by owners or sent to the crematory, she said. Two of her own dogs also died.

Fire investigators estimated damage in the blaze to be $45,000.