Canine Estates was started by three loving sisters who pooled together their talents and their passions to create a safe haven for senior dogs who are in need of a loving home.

Jayne Sidwell (JS) and Sybil Freeman (SF), co-founders at Canine Estates, on their adoption and sanctuary facility.

P4C:  What Specifically moved you to start Canine Estates?

JS:  There was a Yorkie that had been abandoned in a hot garage. We helped to find him a new home. Between that and volunteering at the Humane Society of Pinellas and it really opened our eyes up to the fact there was a tremendous need for a lot of rescues to combat the large number of dogs that needed help.

P4C:  How many rescues can you handle?

SF:  Canine Estates has the capacity for approximately 25-30 dogs under 30 lbs. We have had as many as 30-40 dogs at one time though.

P4C:  On average, how many dogs a year are you able to help?

SF:  In 2014 we were able to adopt out 160 dogs. In 2015 we were able to adopt out 122 dogs. We specialize in senior dogs with a myriad of health issues; the longer it takes to get our residents stable, the fewer occupancy openings become available to give to a new dog in need.   Dogs are not cleared for adoption in our facility until they have become both medically and socially stable.

P4C: How big is your volunteer base?

JS:  We have a network of around 200 volunteers with 20 individuals who are committed to the daily and weekly needs of our residents. Everyone has their place.  We have volunteers who keep our Facebook and social medial up to date. We have volunteers who work the shows we have a booth at. We have volunteers who spend quality time just with the dogs. Having a great volunteer base if a huge component to the success of any rescue facility.

P4C:  What is your biggest challenge?

JS:  Our biggest challenge by far is providing the funding to fulfill all of the dogs’ medical needs. On average, we spend $100,000 a year in vet bills alone. Beyond the standard care, we also get quite a few medical needs where specialty vet care is needed. For example, we had a sweet little Maltese come to us with a broken jaw. A regular vet can’t do the kind of specialty dental work needed to help this little guy. We had another dog come in who was starved and abused. In his initial checkup we learned he was diabetic. During the weeks it took to get him medically stable, he needed constant surveillance and needed to be watched by a vet tech through the midnight hours. He will not be easily adoptable but we will keep him until we find the right home for him. We get several cases like these.

P4C:  What is one thing you need to fundraise for right now?

JS:  We are in desperate need of a commercial grade washer and dryer.  We have had some very generous people donate standard washers and dryers that they don’t need any longer, but we have such a large volume of washing to do that they don’t last long.  An industrial grade washer and dryer would cost approximately $10,000. That is something we really have a need for.

Pets 4 Christ will start the donations off with the first $100 towards your goal!!