Custer, South Dakota
About Us
Drover’s Ridge is conveniently located on the west side of Custer in the southern Black Hills, situated in a newly developed building between Extreme Sports Simulators and PDQ. This easily accessible retail location serves as the front hub for our premium pet products and services.
Our dedicated boarding and daycare ranch is just 13 miles west of town, offering a private, tranquil setting at the end of a quiet dead-end road. Surrounded on two sides by the Black Hills National Forest, the property provides a secure, peaceful environment where pets can relax and enjoy the natural beauty of the region.
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At Drover’s Ridge, we combine convenience with a unique, nature-based care experience. Whether visiting our shop or staying at our ranch, every pet is treated with personalized attention and genuine care—because to us, they’re part of the family.
At Drover’s Ridge, we are truly dedicated to providing exceptional care for your pets while delivering products and services that pet owners can trust. Our mission is to support local pet families by offering a safe, comfortable, and nurturing environment where pets feel at home while you’re away.
Alongside our personalized pet care, we proudly offer a selection of farm-grown goods and thoughtfully curated products. Our new shop features premium-quality items and services designed to enhance your pet’s well-being and provide a truly pampered experience.
At Drover’s Ridge, we combine trusted care with high-quality offerings to create a reliable, one-stop destination for both pets and their owners.
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Drover’s Ridge proudly offers a full range of pet care services, including retail, training, daycare, grooming, and boarding, to support the needs of our local community. We welcome a wide variety of animals—from dogs and cats to birds, reptiles, and even horses—providing flexible, experienced care tailored to each pet.
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All boarding takes place in our home-based farm environment, where pets are cared for as part of our family rather than in traditional kennel settings. This personalized approach allows us to deliver a more comfortable, low-stress experience—but it also means availability is limited. We encourage clients to reserve their dates in advance to ensure accommodations.
To maintain a peaceful environment and respect our neighbors’ privacy, visits to our ranch are available by appointment only. For daycare and boarding pets, they will be transported by staff from our location in town to our ranch for their reservation.
Please note: At this time, our facilities are BY APPOINTMENT ONLY as we build out our retail area. All (non livestock) pets must be dropped off and picked up from our location in town. Visits to the ranch can be accommodated with an appointment during normal business hours.
About our Owner
Brittany with K9 George, and her stud Abraham
Custer South Dakota 2024
Brittany with her stud Abraham when he was younger, Wellington Colorado 2023
Hello! I am Brittany Johnson! I have 3 beautiful daughters and a small ranch. I have been a dog trainer since 2002 and became a behaviorist and CDT in 2007 while I did some grooming in between. I have been a vet tech and Search and Rescue handler and master trainer since 2015, until life decided to take me another path in 2024. I got my first OES in 2018 when I was training dogs for Search and Rescue and Detection work. That's when George, my first sheepie, made his way into my life and I was instantly blown away by his charm, kindness, intelligence, and his accuracy and willingness to work. Quickly he became my close working K9 partner and showed many that, while this breed may be not very well known, this breed is very much alive and capable to make great working dogs as well as family pets. I fell in love with the breed so much that I decided to do my part in preserving this breed and bringing them back to their roots.
I started Drover's Ridge in 2022 when I purchased my first breeding candidate, Miriam. I have always boarded pets, cared for ranches, helped groom pets over the years on the side and I always dreamed of having a luxury pet resort one day.
I have an extensive history and training in veterinary medicine, training obedience, behavior rehabilitation, nose detection work and man-trailing, aggressive and reactive counter conditioning and service dog training. I am working on getting droving introduced to our program.
I really love training K9s and volunteers as a K9 handler seeking lost people.
We have big things instore for the Drover's Ridge and our program and look forward to sharing that all with you in the future. Be sure to check our out "brighter future" page for more information!
Brittany with K9 Maybelle and K9 Beau Duke, Sartec K9 Unit, Huntsville, Alabama 2019
Brittany with her horse Nellie Gan in Wellington, Colorado 2022