Homes Sought for Pets at Closed Kennel

As the owner of Shoestring Kennel was being laid to rest Monday, volunteers, animal activists and the executors of his estate were trying to find suitable homes for about 30 dogs and 140 cats.

Frank Parsons, 87, died Thursday of complications from a stroke. His kennel had been in operation for 54 years, making it one of the oldest in the city.

Shortly after Parsons’ death, a notice was posted outside the kennel urging pet owners to claim their pets by Monday.

“If they are not removed . . . it will be assumed that all dogs on the premises are abandoned,” said the notice, which was signed by Thomas Jeffers, an attorney for the estate.

Kennel volunteers and local animal activists interpreted the notice as a warning that some animals could end up being euthanized.

But by Monday afternoon, it appeared that all animals would survive. In a clarifying statement Monday, Jeffers stressed that “none of these dogs are intended to be put down” and said the animals that remain will be placed in the care of a group called Friends of Frank Parsons.

He added that Northridge resident Carol Winner, who has run the cat-adoption organization Mew for Help from the kennel, is finding homes for the cats.

The kennel’s permit will expire in August. Jeffers said that after Parsons suffered a stroke in June, he made it clear that the kennel should be closed if he did not fully recover.

While some animal rescuers expressed dismay at having to scramble to find homes for the kennel’s pets, some in the area were not upset to see the facility close.

Some of the animal rescuers acknowledged that conditions at the kennel were not pristine, confirmed by the sharp odor of feces and urine wafting through the driveway Monday.

A local business owner showed reporters a stack of photographs depicting excrement allegedly left by dogs walked by kennel volunteers on Canoga Avenue.

“This is a glorious day for the people who live and work on this street,” said Robert Main about the kennel’s closure. “You almost can’t breathe around here. We’ve been yelling at them about it for years.”