ACTIVISTS STAND UP FOR DALMATIANS'.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

BURBANK - Animal activists demanded Monday that Disney Studios include with its soon-to-be-released ``102 Dalmatians'' a warning against rushing out to buy the high-strung dogs.

``When people see the movie and these gorgeous, well-trained animals, they assume that's the nature of the animal and not the result of professional training,'' said Teri Austin, of the Amanda Foundation, a pound rescue group in Los Angeles. ``People find the novelty has worn off and they dump the dogs.''

Austin and about a half-dozen members of animal rights and rescue groups held a news conference outside Disney Studios on Monday morning, demanding that an on-screen advisory on the plight of the breed and an explanation of its temperament be shown before screenings of ``102 Dalmatians.''

Disney released a statement over the weekend announcing it is joining with the breeders' group Dalmatian Club of America to ``promote pet adoption and awareness'' when the movie is released.

Disney spokeswoman Andrea Marozas said Monday that the company is taking the issue ``extremely seriously'' and has plans in the works to deal with the problem.

The activists say the breed is intelligent but temperamental, hyperactive, reserved with strangers, unpredictable with other dogs and has a history of health problems and deafness - overall not an easy breed to own.

That, they said, is the message Disney should convey as it gears up for the November release of the live-action ``102 Dalmatians.''

Randy Warner, founder of Dalmatian Rescue, said the number of new owners trying to give their Dalmatians to shelters and rescue groups increased dramatically within six months of the late 1980s re-release of the animated movie on video.

And soon after the release of the 1996 live-action version and the subsequent Christmas rush to buy the animals, he was getting 25 to 50 calls a week from people wanting to turn in their dogs.

The group tried to deliver a letter to Walt Disney Co. Chairman and CEO Michael Eisner but had to settle for giving it to a studio employee at the gate.

In addition to the on-screen message, the letter, written by Ann Herrington of the Las Vegas-based Media Partners for Pets, asked for the establishment of a Dalmatian Rescue Fund, with 1 percent of the proceeds of the film's licensing, ticket and video sales to go to humane organizations and no-kill shelters.

Marozas said she could not comment on the group's specific requests.

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Photo:

Teri Austin, with a rescued Dalmatian, wants Disney to help discourage those who will see the new film, ``102 Dalmatians,'' and buy - then discard the hard-to-handle dogs.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer