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I have to admit the High Plains Drift Inn has went to the dogs… quite litter-ally (pun intended).
For many years (the golden years if you ask me! Haha!) German Shepherds were the only breed we considered real dogs. Of course when interviewing potential puppy parents, there were many times I recommend them to look at some other breeds, due to their environment or needs. But I always thought German Shepherds were best for ranch life and our family. However nothing stays the same and its amazing what a little time can do. 
One of our family, Lisa, has always struggled with allergies but over the years they seem to have gotten worse. She used to have dachshunds because their hair is so much shorter and they have less dandruff. We turned a blind eye to this betrayal telling ourselves they were at least German. But when our little mascot Annabelle passed away, Lisa began looking for a new dog and our world spiraled out of control.
The logical choice was for her to get another dachshund, but RV complained that they were so small he was always stressed that they would get hurt. So he convinced Lisa to look elsewhere and she tasked him with finding a new breed that would fit in well in our environment. That’s when our trouble really began. He went down the rabbit hole looking for a medium sized, hypoallergenic, friendly and quiet dog. They considered many breeds but narrowed it down to Basenjis and Cockapoos, with my dad strongly leaning toward Basenjis since they are bark-less. He leaned so hard toward Basenjis that when his shepherd passed he determined to get himself one!
I patiently went along with this because his last shepherd had nearly tripped him on several occasions and I thought now that he is in his late 70’s it might be best for him to have a small dog. But that opened a pandora’s box and you all know once opened you can never close it again.
Lisa decided to get a cockapoo and Melanie followed suit. Viki got a couple Keeshond (it takes two to make one dog. Hahahaha! Just kidding) and Yulia got a Basenji and Keeshond just to make sure she covered all the bases! 
This is how the High Plains Drift Inn went to the dogs. It reminds me of that movie Second Hand Lions with Robert Duvall, they owned dogs of every shape and discription including a pig! Don’t bring this up to anyone in the family or they might get a pet pig next. Everyone here loves animals so much I can see them having a house pet pig!
Getting back to the point of the story…
During our search for these new breeds, we discovered how hard it is to find dogs that are not bred and raised in kennels or puppy mills. Maintaining the attitude we had toward our shepherds, we believe that no dog should live its life in a 4”X8” kennel being kept for the sole purpose of producing pups and then when they get old be fixed and given away, dumped out, or worse put down. Our dogs are our babies and whether they have litters or not they are part of the family. We follow the best breeding practices for number of litters and when they either reach that or even if they seem to slow down they will be retired and live the rest of their life out here on the ranch diving everyone crazy or if they are very special becoming our mascots.
Purchasing a dog from us you know your money is going towards providing our dogs with their best life. Our dogs live in our home with us, have a human quality diet (with some kibble), play with other dogs every day, get slipped table scraps constantly and have pretty much enslaved us to meet their every demand. Sometimes I get jealous, as RV’s child a lot more was expected out of me than he ever expects from Benji the basenji! 
So, for those of you who don’t need a German Shepherd and all that takes and gives, we have now have some other options. As with all things in life there are pros and cons with each breed.
