Walla Walla walker makes Xena honest dog

WALLA WALLA, Wash., Jan. 2 (UPI) -- A longtime volunteer at a Washington state animal shelter said it was about time he formally adopted the troubled dog he had regularly walked for two years.

Scott Davis became the official owner of Xena after a six-day holiday trial run at his home, ending the one-time stray's long stint as the most un-adoptable mutt at the Blue Mountain Human Society in Walla Walla.

"I couldn't take it any longer," Davis told the Walla Wall Union-Bulletin.

The newspaper said Xena, a Rottweiler-mix, displayed a high degree of aggression, which kept her either out of the adoption showroom altogether or turned off customers looking for a new dog.

"They (other dogs) got adopted out, but she never did," Davis said. "They just walk right past her cage."

Davis' patience and attention with Xena is credited with socializing her. Davis says the benefits were mutual. "It keeps me social, keeps me active," he said.