How It Works — Mini-Sheps™

Apply

Fill out the application. Tell us about your household, your experience with dogs, your daily rhythms, and what you're hoping for in a companion. It takes about ten minutes. There are no trick questions.

Conversation

We review every application and reach out to families that seem like a good fit. We'll ask questions. We'll answer yours. This is a discernment process — we want to understand your home, and we want you to understand the line you're becoming part of.

Placement Discernment

If we believe a family and a dog are a good match, we make the introduction. No bidding. No urgency tactics. The right dog for the right home — we take that seriously.

Reservation

A reservation deposit holds the placement and applies in full toward the placement donation. The balance is due when the dog goes home, and installments can be arranged if needed — just ask. (Current donations are listed on the Apply page.)

Going Home

At 8 weeks or older, your dog comes home. With full health records (vaccinations, deworming, vet check). With a signed placement agreement. With a blessing scroll documenting their lineage and spirit name. And with our contact information — because the relationship does not end at placement.

We're Still Here

Questions about training, behavior, health, or anything else — reach out. We respond. These dogs are ours in a way that doesn't end when they leave our home. We want to know how they're doing.

The Placement Agreement

Every placement includes a written agreement. Plain language — not a legal maze. Here is what it covers:

✓ The dog is not to be resold, rehomed independently, or transferred without notifying us first.
✓ If you can no longer care for the dog, the dog returns to us — not to a shelter, not to a stranger.
✓ Basic welfare standards: adequate food, water, veterinary care, and a safe living environment.
✓ No commercial breeding of the dog without prior conversation and agreement.
✓ We may reach out periodically to check in — and you may reach out to us anytime.

This is not a covenant in the Mini-Shep Guardians™ sense — it is a simpler, practical agreement that protects the dog's welfare and keeps communication open. If you're interested in the deeper guardian covenant, visit Mini-Shep Guardians™.

Common Questions

Every placement is a donation to the mission, not a sale — and we set those donations to be accessible. The goal is finding the right homes, not maximizing revenue. The donation covers the real costs of raising a dog right (veterinary care, vaccinations, deworming, and weeks of hand-rearing) without creating a financial barrier for families who are the right fit. The application — not the price — does the qualifying work. Why the donation is what it is → (Current donations are listed on the Apply page.)

No. Our dogs are small shepherd-type companions from a documented lineage — they resemble and behave like German Shepherds in a smaller package, but we have not established a recognized breed and they do not come with AKC papers. What they come with is a documented lineage, known temperament, and weeks of hand-rearing during the most critical developmental window of their lives. We believe that is worth more than a registration number.

Talk to us. A reservation deposit holds your placement, and the balance can be arranged in installments if your situation calls for it. We'd rather work with the right family than turn them away over timing.

The dog comes back to us. That is in the placement agreement. We will never leave you without a path forward, and we will never allow one of our dogs to end up in a shelter. Life changes — we understand that. The dog always has a home to return to.

We respond to every application within one week. From first contact to placement, the process typically takes 2–4 weeks depending on the match and availability. We don't rush it — the right placement takes the time it takes.

No. This work is rooted in faith, and the spiritual language throughout the site reflects that honestly. But what we're looking for in a family is simpler than theology: genuine love for dogs, a stable home, and a willingness to commit to the animal's long-term care. Anyone who brings those things is welcome to apply.

Mini-Sheps is the accessible front door — a simpler placement process for families who want an exceptional companion dog. Mini-Shep Guardians™ is the deeper covenant program — a 20-year bloodline preservation project with a $5,000 refundable trust deposit and a formal guardian community. Every dog on both sites comes from the same lineage. The difference is the depth of commitment involved.

Every dog comes with a veterinary health check record, deworming documentation, and first vaccination records. We will tell you exactly what was done, when, and by whom — no vague assurances.

Ready to begin the conversation?

The application takes about ten minutes. We respond to every one within a week.

Apply Now →