Homes Sought for Dogs, Cats After Death of Kennel Owner

As the owner of Shoestring Kennel in Chatsworth 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 be 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 who 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.