The State - News from Sept. 1, 1986

Flora Burris slept in the hallway of her two-bedroom house in Castro Valley while her children occupied one bedroom and 48 dogs stayed in the other, an Alameda County sheriff’s spokesman said. In addition to the dogs, 25 cats, a rabbit and a macaw were on the premises, Sheriff’s Lt. Dean Hess said. The animals came to the attention of authorities, when an animal control officer was alerted that Burris, 38, may be in violation of a county ordinance limiting the number of animals at a residence. Because of Burris’ “secretive manner, the way she hustled the dogs into the house and her general attitude,” the animal control officer called for a sheriff’s deputy. Burris was jailed on an outstanding traffic warrant and the county district attorney will decide what charges, if any, to impose upon Burris for keeping so many pets. The children were taken to their grandmother’s home.