Towering flames in the Hasley Canyon area near Castaic sent rancher Carmen Eblen, her husband and her eight horses packing about 3 a.m. Monday.

The couple and a few friends loaded the horses, a mule and a donkey into trailers and headed for the Ventura County Fairgrounds, arriving well before dawn.

"It's been wonderful. (Animal control) has been very helpful with feed and hay," said Eblen, as her 9-year-old paint Fancy strutted and whinnied in a nearby open corral about 100 yards from the beach.

Ventura County Animal Regulation is operating a shelter for livestock and other large animals at the Ventura County Fairgrounds and had more than a dozen animals sheltered there Monday afternoon. Small animals have been evacuated to the Ventura County Animal Shelter in Camarillo.

Neither facility was overwhelmed, said Director Kathy Jenks, who reported about 20 dogs, cats and birds have been dropped off at the Camarillo shelter since the fires started this weekend.

Jenks urged residents to evacuate their animals early, which might help animals stay calm and allow everyone to stay safe.

Eblen's horses weren't spooked by the fire but on edge, she said. They've been through it all before — three times, she said. Her husband had returned to their ranch, which hadn't burned, by Monday evening, but Eblen was staying with friends in Ventura.

Elsewhere in the area, nearly three dozen dogs were dropped off at the Agoura Hills Animal Shelter, according to Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control, and more than 100 horses were evacuated to an emergency shelter at Pierce College in Woodland Hills.

Even if animals don't have to be moved, veterinarian Al Schwartz of Moorpark Veterinary Hospital said pets throughout Ventura County were feeling effects of the wind and smoke. He treated a dog for an ear infection Monday morning and found soot buried deep in the dog's ears.

In the next few days, he said, "We will expect to see quite a few of them."

Pets that have inhaled smoke show respiratory distress in a number of different ways, including runny noses and eyes, sneezing, coughing or excessive panting. A vet can treat many of the conditions early, he said, which likely will stop infections from becoming more serious.

Schwartz, a former president of the California Veterinary Medical Association, recommended keeping animals, including outdoor pets, somewhere inside until the air clears, even if that means they stay in the garage.

"Take your pets outside just long enough to do their business and then back inside," he said, adding that pet owners should wait 48 hours after they last smell smoke in the air before resuming normal outdoor activity.