Olivia and Alexey are kind people and your dog Din a sweet friend!
I was just 8 days in LA, in a business trip, but I felt like my home.
I have to say Metro line buses are reliable and useful way to discover LA. I have been no more than 10 minutes at bus stop.
Finally a useful tip, If you are planning to rent a van service from or to airport home trip, please, absolut avoid SuperShuttle (blue vans)...they gave me an awful service, on the contrary, PrimeTime Shuttle (reds vans) was perfect, on time, kind manners, speed, clean and modern vans.