King was born at Leybourne Breeders outside of San Luis Obispo, California on October 13^th, 1999 - one of an outstanding litter of eight German Shepherd puppies. Of the two solid black males, King turned heads and stole hearts from the outset.

At dusk on December 31^st, 1999, King's Dad came and picked him up for the long ride north to Berkeley via Big Sur and the Coast Highway.