Kinzie

Sophie is in charge of picking up little Curly from the clinic and she has offered to foster him until the big day. I know he is in safe hands with her and so I head down to West Los Angeles Shelter looking for my sixth and final pup. I am going to try to find a large breed dog and female, if possible, as I already have so many little guys in the line up. I have noticed that there are a lot more males than females in the shelter. They separate dogs by sex, females on one side and males on the other. The girl's section is about half that of the boys, probably because unfixed males will wander off looking for the ladies and get themselves lost.

West LA shelter is modern and clean but not as big as West or East Valley, although it does have a large, grassy play yard. As I walk through the rows of dogs peering into each cage, I am approached twice by a volunteer and asked if I need any help. The valley shelters are not nearly so well staffed and I realize how much the dogs must enjoy the extra attention.

Soon I come across a gorgeous, young female Rottweiler, I was hoping for a Lab or something a little more easy to manage, but there is only one Labrador there and he is very young and big, a volunteer tells me he is quite the handful. I find an officer and a volunteer and ask to see the Rottie. We take her to the big play yard on leash and she does seem very sweet. I ask them how she is with other dogs, but they don't know. In the shelter they house large dogs in separate cages unless they are a bonded pair and they never put big dogs near one another unless they are leashed, and even then they keep them at a safe distance. The officer suggests bringing another dog in on a leash to see how Kinzie reacts. They bring in a large, male dog and walk him back and forth, but Kinzie doesn't seem to be interested, which is a good sign.

I decide I just don't have time to be looking at any more dogs, as it is, Kinzie needs to be spayed, so that will mean one more trip to pick her up the following day. I tell them I want her and strangely the volunteer tries to talk me out of it. She tells me how much time and work Kinzie will need. I know she is only trying to make sure I can manage a big, intelligent dog like a Rottweiler, and so I reassure her as best I can but I don't tell her about the parade. I just have the feeling that she might disapprove. I go to the front desk to pay for Kinzie and find out that because she has been at the shelter so long she is on sale and half price! My poor bargain basement Kinzie, so much life, beauty, and soul for just $64.