About Us

After many years of stories from Kathleen's Dad about the Ridgebacks and Yellow Curs he hunted with as a boy in Arkansas, Kathleen decided she wanted a Ridgeback. The question was how to get one?

In 1984, after a visit to the local animal shelter, Zak arrived as our first Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Zak was an eight week old puppy that turned into a loyal Ridgeback companion. He traveled to horse shows and kept horses and people safe while at home on the farm. Unfortunately for Zak and the people who knew and loved him, his life was cut short by an auto-immune disease.

After Zak we contacted a breeder and acquired Mkuzi Windriver Rhett aka Rhett. A few years later we purchased Mkuzi Bella Kijani aka Bella, our foundation bitch. These dogs were our first show dogs and both went on to obtain their AKC championships and Canine Good Citizen (CGC) titles along with Therapy Dog International (TDI) titles. Bella was a fabulous show dog and mother. Bella's litter was born Oct. 23, 2000, of which we kept 1 male, Krystal CNT, RN, CGC, aka T and 1 female, CH Krystal Limited Edition, RN, CGC aka Leilani. From there we have continued with our breeding and purchasing of Ridgebacks. All of our dogs are shown in the AKC conformation ring and some go to the performance rings before they are bred.

With the purchase of CH Krystl Lady Annabelle, CGC (who obtained her AKC championship and CGC with us) we have bred healthy and very good tempered dogs. The puppies have gone to show homes, companion homes and performance homes. Leilani has continued with our tradition of producing great puppies. And now we have her daughter CH Krystal Kijani Johari of Lionridge, JC who produced wonderful puppies for us also.

Kathleen has a love for the conformation ring and is starting to get an interest in obedience and agility. With her past as a professional horse trainer for 35 years the competition ring is "old hand" for her.

Mark was previously a Police Officer. He developed the K-9 Unit in Grand Junction, CO, which is still used today.  His last Police K-9 was Ucca, an imported German Shepherd from Germany. Mark's expertise with obedience has proven invaluable with the training of the Ridgebacks.

Mark and Kathleen are members in good standing with the Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of The United States (RRCUS).

"We believe we have a responsibility to all of our dogs and the puppies we have produced. Before we breed any of our dogs they are health tested and certified by the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFFA) for hips, elbows, thyroid, heart, eyes, DM , JME, and EOAD and we follow the recommendations for breeding set by the OFFA. Krystal Rhodesian Ridgebacks are only sold on contract  and we are always available. Whether we need to help with the training of a dog or help in the show ring, we always want to know what is going on with our puppies."

"Our puppies are raised in the house with the same love that our big dogs receive. We start socializing them before they leave for their forever homes. Along with socializing we do conformation and temperament testing. We require a puppy questionnaire to be completed by any of our potential puppy people. This questionnaire helps us to match the perfect puppy with the perfect people."

If you have any questions, are interested in completing a puppy questionaire or would like references please contact us.