1-DAY SWEEP NETS 25 DOGS; SQUAD HITS PACOIMA.

Byline: Robert Monroe Staff Writer

Out of the estimated 44,000 stray dogs wandering Los Angeles streets, city animal control officers captured 25 on Thursday in Pacoima.

After four hours of chasing dogs through rose bushes, over fences and into back yards, Animal Regulation Special Enforcement Unit officers had 20 locked in their trucks. An additional five were returned to owners, who were each fined $76.50.

``This is the first time he's gotten out,'' Ismael Martes told enforcement Officer Jesus Castillo after Martes' dog Dino led the officers on a chase that ended behind the wrought-iron gate of Martes' home.

To publicize the seriousness of the stray problem, animal control officials organized a sweep of loose dogs in Pacoima, with neighborhoods considered second only to South Central Los Angeles for numbers of strays.

``Sometimes we're walking around, taking the kids to school, and there's all these dogs around,'' said Nellie Days as Castillo chased a dog onto Goleta Street, where Days lives. ``You're afraid you're going to get attacked.''

To reduce the population, the Animal Regulation Department will add 12 officers in January and is urging the City Council to pass an ordinance requiring spaying and neutering of pets.

The addition of six animal control officers to work at shelters and six to join the Special Enforcement Unit, which actually does the roundups, will be the first substantial reinforcement to the department in more than a decade, said Lt. Tim Goffa, an animal control officer.

But it's still not enough to rid the streets of strays.

``We could double our force, and it may not be enough,'' Goffa said.

Department spokeswoman Jackie David said its budget is growing by $2.2 million to $10.4 million to add enforcement officers.

The Special Enforcement Unit travels in convoys of three trucks on weekday mornings. The officers' job is equal parts law enforcement and rodeo stunt work. Lassos dangle from their rear-view mirrors.

The roundup started when a 7 a.m. call of a pack of strays roaming outside the police station cut short a planned briefing. Officers caught two of the seven dogs behind the police station. A boy at a nearby house grabbed his dog and yanked it inside before it could be confused with the strays. The dog had squeezed through its fence to join the excitement.

Of the dogs running wild in the city, animal control officers estimate that four out of five have not been inoculated against rabies. They also estimate 40 percent are pit bull terriers, based on the breeds of dogs impounded. Goffa said they are most plentiful, being the choice of security-minded homeowners and gang members.

Animal control officers will adopt out pit bulls - the breed of choice in illegal dog fighting - as long as they pass standards for temperament and health just like other dogs, David said. If they don't pass, they are euthanized, as are three out of four strays picked up by the department.

The owners have only themselves to blame, David said.

``All those animals, the resources being spent, this is all their fault, and they know who they are,'' she said.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo: (1) Animal Regulation Officer Jesus Castillo lassos a stray Rottweiler during a Thursday morning round-up in Pacoima, a city hot spot.

(2) Enforcement officers reel in a stray Rottweiler while another dog capers down the street Thursday in Pacoima.

Phil McCarten/Daily News