After all this is a story that displays a lack of urban wilderness skills that some might find embarrassing. The dogs' names have not been changed. They aren't embarrassed in the least. If you're not from Los Angeles, you might assume the Los Angeles River is, in fact, a river. You would be wrong.
LA is more or less a desert shoved up against the ocean.
We have a few creeks, maybe a lagoon here and there, but no real rivers to speak of. The LA River is actually a really big drainage ditch through the city to the ocean. Most of the time there's no water in it. But every winter we get enough rain to have some water flowing. And every year a schoolkid or two gets swept away and has to be rescued by the Fire Department.