I'm Kristi & Clayton P., the breeder behind Pura Vida Golden Retrievers located in Evansville, WY. We now have three female Goldens, Journey and Lainey, Stevie and look forward to adding more to the family. Our goal and desire are to breed Goldens that become a part of your family, heart, and soul and bring the true meaning of Pura Vida into your life.
Q. & A. with Kristi & Clayton
Why did you start breeding?
After truly falling in love with goldens and having many opportunities to provide love and comfort to so many others through their interactions with our goldens, we decided we wanted to be a part of this amazing community and help facilitate the love and joy that we experience with our own goldens.
What makes your program special?
We are very selective when finding mates that will compliment the others strengths and provide well rounded, compassionate, loving goldens. We practice Puppy Culture and firmly believe that while this requires extra time and energy with each litter, the advantages this can provide each puppy will last their lifetime and make them great additions to your family!
What are the different breed coat colors in your program?
Our puppies include dark golden, golden, and light golden. Colors will vary depending on the parent dogs.
Where do your breeding dogs live?
They live in my home.
Matched dogs
These dogs are already reserved or have gone home.
Darius
Went home
Male
Miranda
Went home
Female
Faith
Went home
Female
Kacey
Went home
Female
Bentley
Went home
Male
Toby
Went home
Male
Stevie
Went home
Female
Cash
Went home
Male
Urban
Went home
Male
Getting a puppy from Kristi & Clayton
Kristi & Clayton has been certified by Good Dog’s screening team for responsible and trusted breeding practices. When you’re ready to reach out, feel free to ask any questions about the breed, their program, or specific puppies.
Together, you’ll choose the puppy that’s right for you, stay in touch with regular updates, and plan how to bring your new puppy home.
Price
Puppy prices include a $500 non-refundable deposit and between $1,500 - $2,000 final payment, before taxes & fees.
Pay over time with Klarna.
“The price includes: health guarantee, limited AKC registration (full breeding AKC rights can be purchased for $500), first round of vaccinations, deworming, micro chipping and puppy socialization. All puppies are the same price with a limited AKC registration. Full AKC Breeding Rights can be purchased for an additional $500.”
Contract & health guarantee
Kristi & Clayton may provide a written contract or
health guarantee when you purchase a puppy. This helps
protect both you and your breeder, ensuring that you
both have a clear understanding of the terms of your
puppy purchase. If Kristi & Clayton offers a contract
or guarantee, the details will be personalized by them.
If you have any questions or want to know more,
don’t hesitate to reach out to Kristi & Clayton directly.
Pura Vida Golden Retrievers meets or exceeds our community standards in these areas:
Responsible breeding practices
Health of breeding dogs and puppies
Puppy environment and enrichment
Buyer education and policies
Litter and program updates
Kristi & Clayton P.
Litter update on 04 Sept. •
So many adventures! Time has passed too quickly as our fur babies will soon be joining their forever families!!!
Finn and Journey's litter
Kristi & Clayton P.
Litter update on 25 Aug. •
How are they so big!?! Time needs to slow down!
Finn and Journey's litter
Kristi & Clayton P.
Litter update on 21 Aug. •
We are in love!!!!🥰
Finn and Journey's litter
Kristi & Clayton P.
Litter update on 18 Aug. •
Meal time just got a whole lot messier! 🤣💕
Finn and Journey's litter
Kristi & Clayton P.
Litter update on 13 Aug. •
Growing TOO fast!!! 🥰🥰🥰
Finn and Journey's litter
Kristi & Clayton P.
Litter update on 11 Aug. •
Perfection!
Finn and Journey's litter
Kristi & Clayton P.
Litter update on 09 Aug. •
Playtime followed by cuddle time!🥰
Finn and Journey's litter
Kristi & Clayton P.
Litter update on 08 Aug. •
3 weeks old today!🥰
Finn and Journey's litter
Kristi & Clayton P.
Litter update on 07 Aug. •
Cuteness overload! 💕
Finn and Journey's litter
Kristi & Clayton P.
Litter update on 07 Aug. •
Videos weren’t working in last update so we are trying again!!! 😉🥰
Finn and Journey's litter
Parent dogs
Journey, mom
Golden Retriever
About Journey
Journey is a beautiful AKC Registered Golden Retriever with a dark golden coat complete with curls. Journey is very loving and affectionate and enjoys holding hands and cuddling. Journey is energetic, agile, a good swimmer and enjoys a good game of "retrieving".
She comes from strong hunting lines. Her dad (Doc) is from the prestigious Hunter's Goldstrike Golden Retriever kennel.
Her dad comes from strong hunting lines and has many Master Hunters in his Pedigree. He is an athletic dog who loves swimming and retrieving. He is also a sweet, gentle boy!
Her Mom, Cammie, also comes from strong hunting lines and is a gorgeous dog with an amazing coat. She is a very sweet and loving girl!
Both of her parents and lines are AKC Registered with strong, healthy genetics.
Good health testing
Cardiac Evaluation (registered with OFA), Elbow Dysplasia Finals (OFA, BVA, SV, FCI), +1 more.
Lainey, mom
Golden Retriever
About Lainey
We are not currently breeding Lainey yet as she is under 2 yrs old and still needs to undergo her OFA and other health screenings / tests.
Parent health testing
Breeder-Reported Testing
Good level
Pura Vida Golden Retrievers reports to performing the health tests below on their breeding dogs. Ask your breeder about the tests performed on the parents of your litter. Learn more about health testing for Golden Retrievers.
Hip Dysplasia
Hip testing reduces the chance of passing down hip dysplasia, which is primarily found in large breed dogs and can cause hip pain and the eventual loss of the function of the hip joint.
Elbow Dysplasia Finals (OFA, BVA, SV, FCI)
Elbow testing reduces the chance of passing down elbow dysplasia, which is primarily found in large breed dogs and can cause arthritis in the elbow joint and front leg lameness.
Eye Certification (CAER, registered with OFA)
Eye testing reduces the chance of passing down a wide range of hereditary eye illnesses including retinal dysplasia, lens luxation, and glaucoma, which can cause impared vision or blindness.
Cardiac Evaluation (registered with OFA)
Heart testing reduces the chance of passing down congenital heart disease, which can cause a range of symptoms ranging from trouble exercising to heart failure.
Verified owner stories
Hear what other owners say about working with Kristi & Clayton to bring home their puppies.
Jamie S.
Verified owner · Nov. 2025
Kristi and Clayton were so easy to work with! They were always quick to respond to my messages and sent me weekly pictures of my pup, which I absolutely loved! When it came time to pick up my puppy, they were kind, welcoming, and very informative. I’m so glad I found them through the Good Dog website—such a wonderful experience from start to finish! Highly recommend.
Cathy R.
Verified owner · Sept. 2025
Clayton and Kristi are amazing people and showed so much love for the puppies! I could tell it was hard for them to say goodbye to them! 💕
They were wonderful to work with and explained everything so well. We absolutely love our little baby girl and highly recommend them as wonderful breeders who care so much for the beautiful dogs! 💕
kiara b.
Verified owner · Sept. 2025
Clayton and Kristi are great! We got our little golden retriever puppy so happy and so well taken care of. You can tell they really love dogs and know what they’re doing. We couldn’t be happier with our boy and would absolutely recommend them!
Katie D.
Verified owner · Oct. 2025
Clayton and Kristi were amazing to work with from start to finish! Their communication was exceptional — they kept us updated throughout the entire process with photos, videos, and quick responses to any questions we had. Pickup day was seamless, and they made every detail easy for us. Most importantly, it was clear how deeply they care for their dogs and puppies — like they’re raising them for their own family. Our puppy came from such a loving, happy environment, and we couldn’t be more grateful to have found Pura Vida Golden Retrievers. Highly recommend Clayton and Kristi to anyone looking for a wonderful, well-cared-for Golden!
Katie S.
Verified owner · Sept. 2025
+6
Clayton and Kristi were absolutely phenomenal! They were so incredibly responsive, thorough and kind. They kept us updated on our puppy through photos and details about him until the day came to pick him up.
My favorite thing about working with Clayton and Kristi, aside from adopting our forever best friend, was the clear amount of care and love they have for each of the puppies. It was evident that they were sad to see them go, because they love them so much. The puppies were in such a wonderful home with an amazing family and we cannot recommend them enough! We cannot wait to continue to share updates on our Ruger with Clayton and Kristi. We are forever thankful for them.
Health testing is one key piece of responsible breeding and is performed on breeding dogs to prevent the presence of heritable conditions in their puppies.