HOW I FOUND HEINZE

In my previous home I had a 4 car garage and one car.  There were animal adoptions atmy local pet store every weekend but there was not enough space to housethe dogs during the week. It was a perfect opportunity to turn 2 of the spaces in my garage into a kennel to give the dogs a place to stay - some of them anyway. Heinze was one of the dogs I was asked to take with me to my new kennel.I wasn't sure at first.  He was not friendly - he had clearly been in dog fights given the marks on his body and I didn't know what his temperment was but I agreed. During the months before he came to my home Heinze had been living in the streets of South Central Los Angeles - a very rough place for a homeless dog.  While Heinze showed thewear and tear of a puppy living in unlivable  surroundings - a very sweet andhappy dog emerged after just a few days in my kennel. When I would go downstairs to see how ALL 10 dogs were doing - Heinze would bewagging his tail and his entire back end when he saw me.  I absolutely fell in love with him.  I walked the dogs - 5 at a time and Heinze was always the leader of his group.   He was so funny on our walks.  After being in the streets for months - he appreciated the fact that there was food in trash cans and his entire body would go into alert when we got near any cans on the street.  He didn't realize that food would always be there for him now. After having him for a week - parting with him - for someone else to adopt him - was not acceptable and so he stayed.  I have never regretted that decision for a minute.  I only wish he could stay with me longer. I lived on Manhattan Avenue in Manhattan Beach - a main street there and Heinze loved sitting on my deck while watching the traffice, people and dogs walking by.  However, he felt that the dogs were an intrusiion into his arena and he raced back and forth from the deck to the front door and back to the deck barking at them. No one seemed to mind the barking - and Heinze became a sort of fixture there.  When he he would lay down - he  crossed his front paws in the most elegant way - with his head held high,  also in the most elegant way.   He looked as though he was merely surveying the land.  People  called out to him when walking by - he had become part of the cmmunity in that very small town of Manhattan Beach. Heinze has been with me through so much and he has always been close to my heart - he always will be. Thank you so much for your support - I'm not sure I would have gotten through this very well without you. I am going to continue writing about Heinze until the sadness is gone.