Nearly two dozen Shetland Sheepdogs rescued from the scene of a house fire over the weekend were made available for adoption Monday in Riverside County.

A total of 52 Shelties were impounded from a home in the 1600 block of Pick Place (map) in Woodcrest after firefighters responded to a call about smoke coming from the attic on Saturday.

The dog owners, who were former breeders, surrendered the animals to Riverside County Animal Services.

The first of the dogs to be cleared for adoption were made available on Monday.

“There were 50 people waiting to adopt 20 dogs, and we probably had 200 people come to the shelter interested today,” said shelter employee Kim McWhorter.

The next batch of 29 Shelties were expected to be available for adoption in the coming days.

Anyone interested in adopting one of the dogs should contact the Western Riverside County Animal Shelter for more information.