Earthquake: The Long Road Back : 2 Brave Aftershocks to Save Animals : Northridge mall: They find exotic fish flopping on the floor at pet store. They save about 100 dogs, cats and birds.

By DAVID WHARTON

Jan. 28, 1994 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

NORTHRIDGE — The instant the shaking stopped, Udie Nathan had one thing on his mind: puppies and kittens.

As manager of Petland in the Northridge Fashion Center, Nathan feared for the lives of more than 100 dogs, cats, birds, reptiles and rodents in his store. By the time he rushed from his Granada Hills home to the mall--within half an hour after the Northridge quake--the store’s owner, Ilan Eliav, had already arrived.

The mall, roughly a mile from the temblor’s epicenter, stood in shambles. Parts of the Bullock’s department store and two parking structures had collapsed. Though the structure continued to rumble with aftershocks, the two men forced their way inside.

“We just had to get to our animals,” Nathan said. “It was weird to see the whole mall so quiet and deserted inside. Parts of the ceiling had fallen. The alarms from the jewelry stores were going off.”

When they reached their store, they could see the back wall had fallen, scattering merchandise in every direction. Several aquariums had shattered and exotic fish flopped across the floor. But the majority of animals and birds were unharmed and still secured in their cages.

“The puppies didn’t seem to mind the earthquake too much,” Nathan said. “They were glad to see us and really playful. I don’t think they realized what had happened.”

The two men saved a few fish and fed the rest of the animals. Then emergency crews arrived and declared the mall off-limits.

For the remainder of the day, Petland employees were allowed to enter for only a few minutes at a time to care for the animals. When they could not be there, firefighters assumed feeding duties.

By Tuesday, the shop had been declared safe to enter. Workers spent the morning packing up everything from an Akita puppy to hamsters to pythons. The animals were transported to pet stores throughout the city.

“For them,” Nathan said, “I think the whole thing was like a big roller-coaster ride.”