What Sets Us Apart

As ethical breeders in 2026, we prioritize the well-being of our dogs and the future of your family. This is a science, an art, and our passion We consider ourselves professionals, but we do not believe this is a business. Here are a few things that set us apart from most breeders:

• Small-Scale and Truly Exceptional: Every one of our dogs is a cherished family member and they share our homes and beds; we do not have a “kennel” environment. We always give our females the time to recover she needs. Sometimes we only breed one of our girls once or twice in her lifetime. We often keep one of the puppies ourselves or donate a puppy to a Veteran as a Service Dog, so we make absolutely certain we are exceeding every standard.
• Comprehensive Health Screening: Our parents are fully cleared for genetic conditions including OFA hips/elbows, EIC, CNM, and annual eye exams. The results are fully transparent and available on the American Kennel Club (AKC) and Orthopedic Foundation of Animals (OFA) websites. In addition, EVERY puppy we have is screened by Embark Breed + Health Genetics before it goes to it’s new home.
• Advanced Socialization: We utilize Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS) and Early Scent Introduction (ESI) to build confident, resilient puppies. We socializing as they grow following the “Rule of 7s” as well as protocol used by International Working Dog Association (IWDA) and Guide Dogs for the Blind.
• A Lifetime Commitment: Our responsibility doesn’t end when a puppy leaves our home. We offer lifetime support and a “take-back” policy to ensure no dog from our program ever ends up in a shelter. We do not care why someone cannot keep their dog – we will never ask because we know they are heartbroken. So is the pup, so we welcome them back without judgement and with an open heart. We refuse to let any of our dogs ever end up in a shelter.
• Best Practices and Cutting Edge Research: We spend quite a bit of time reading about best practices among breeders and kennel club associations, then ask ourselves what we can do to take our professionalism to the next level. We talk with Veterinarians and our clients from years past to find out the long term affects of our program. We search Google Scholar to find out where cutting edge research is heading and make changes to our program if warranted.

Choosing the Right Family

Because we produce so few puppies, we take our placement process seriously. We look for families who understand that a Labrador is a decade-long commitment to love, training, and activity. We interview prospective clients to ensure we are the right match. Through the entire process, we get to know you and your family so we can match you to the right companion. There are a lot of puppy evaluation techniques, but we also evaluate our prospective clients and their lifestyle. Intuition plays a part in the selection process and we know our puppies and clients so well that by pick up day matching everyone up seems to happen organically. We don’t just sell puppies; we build relationships. We have many “dogs-in-law” families across the country. We also have a “No questioned asked” re-home policy that assures none of our dogs ever end up in a shelter or humane society. We are truly dedicated to the amazing beings that Labrador Retriever are.

Community Involvement & Service

We love our community and sharing the shining personalities of our Labradors. In fact, Katherine’s two original Labradors were Service Dog’s – Vino & Rambo. These pups inspired the partnership with Lucky Yellow Labs as well as Brigadoon Service Dogs. We have fostered Veteran’s Service Dogs hurt in the line of duty and worked with Veterans to get Service dogs of their own. We regularly have the puppies in our litters evaluated for Service dog temperament and match them with families that have a unique need. We specifically work with Service Dog Programs certified by Assistant Dog International (ADI), the global authority in the assistance dog industry. This is the only training certification recognized by the Department of Veterans Affairs, which will help cover the cost of a service dog and their care.