Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Bob Gualtieri, Sheriff

Canine Estates, Incorporated
Jayne Sidwell
Sybil Freeman
Barbara Erskine

Highest Bidder of On-Line Auction – Anonymous - $9,650

Florida State Elks Association (Donated $350)
Rudy Masi, Sr., District Deputy, West Central District
Toni Goodrich, District Vice President, West Central District

What:
The Sheriff’s Office has presented a $10,000 check to Canine Estates. The donation was made possible through the on-line bidding of a donor, who has chosen to remain anonymous and purchased the “In Dog We Trust” rug for $9,650. An additional donation of $350 was provided by the Florida State Elks Association bringing the total donation to $10,000.

When:
The check presentation was held at 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, January 28, 2015.

Where:
The check presentation was made at the Sheriff’s Administration Building located at 10750 Ulmerton Road in Largo.

Why/How:
Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri today presented a check to Canine Estates following the on-line auction of the “In Dog We Trust” rug. Canine Estates Founders/Owners, Jayne Sidwell, Sybil Freeman and Barbara Erskine were present to receive the donation.

The rug was purchased by the highest on-line bidder for $9,650. The bidder opted to remain anonymous.

An additional $350 donation was provided by the Florida State Elk’s Association to complete an even $10,000 for Canine Estates

Located in Palm Harbor, Canine Estates is a 501c3 adoption and sanctuary facility dedicated to saving the lives of abandoned, abused and injured dogs primarily from high kill shelters. They provide rehabilitation, vaccination, spaying and neutering and seek to find loving homes for all their animals.

The rug was discovered to have a misprint and on January 14^th was removed from the Sheriff’s Administration lobby. Due to overwhelming interest regarding plans for the rug, on January 15th the rug was auctioned on-line via onlineauction.com. Bidding closed at 4:00 p.m. on January 21^st with the winning bid.

The rug was delivered to the winner who elected to remain anonymous. The winner, from Florida, is a strong supporter of law enforcement and a dog lover.

The bidding site attracted nearly 31,000 hits (30,980 specifically), and got 83 bids from throughout the nation.

Pictured From L to R: Toni Goodrich, Florida State Elk's Association; Rudy Masi, Sr. Florida State Elk's Association; Sybil Freeman, Canine Estates; Barbara Erskine, Canine Estates; Jayne Sidwell, Canine Estates; and Sheriff Bob Gualtieri