Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Jimenez
Hi Erika, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
The pawhouse estate started in a small back house in sylmar in march 2022. I always knew I had a passion for dogs and wanted to help my community . I was currently working 2 jobs back to back , living in a cycle and realized what am I doing ? I have a gift and I need to use it . One day with no money in my savings , nothing to fall back on I decided to take the leap of Faith in God and in myself to put my all into this business . Everything that I needed to start up the 1st ever Pawhouse estate was all free and given to me ( the wood / doggy material) . My parents are immigrants so I always knew I wanted to support my family and also my community , growing up and living in impoverished areas showed me that its important to help one another . I’m the first in my family to start a business , graduate from highschool and the first to graduate from a university . The first year and a half of having The Pawhouse Estate in my backhouse flourished and eventually led us to having to find a location to provide services for our requested clientele . We have been located here in Pasadena for a year and a half now . It is a family ran business . We on occasion host community events where we feed the homeless and also give out packages of dog necessities for the pets in these communities . We make “paw care packages “ and pass them out or will drop them off to homeless shelters we find . We also have thrown an event in Mexico for the community and their pups which included free vaccines , grooms , and dog essentials . We are in the plans of throwing another one this year in January . We also partnered up with a homeless shelter in Northridge that takes in emergency cases , but they do not allow dogs. That’s where we will step in and house a dog until the family is able to find a forever home .
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Honestly , I would say having my family as a support system , then having my back and being one phone call away has made it smooth.
I will say in the beginning stages my parents were against me leaving my paying jobs to become a entrepreneur. They would tell me you need to get a real job, be a doctor or a lawyer . The only one who supported me in the beginning was my sister . Now everything has changed and everyone is 100% on board
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The pawhouse estate is a private doggy daycare . In the selection process we are very selective because we want to create a safe loving playful environment for our pups and pet parents. Our set up is very homesy, we are kennel cage free ( have bedrooms ) , include activities in the pups stay because we understand the importance of physical and mental stimulation being met, and we are family ran . We have been known for working with dogs who have had social anxiety, fear based aggression , and who have never socialized in their life’s or have engaged in outdoor activities such as park outings/ hikes . We understand that every dog is different and that the parents also play a role into their personality. All the dogs we have worked on that have had these behavioral issues have flourished here and now can we can confidently say that their own pet parents are comfortable with taking them out on outings . We understand that to build a relationship with a dog it is important to have respect, love , patience , and loyalty. That’s why we also believe a intimate doggy daycare is important .
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
We are in the works of creating our non profit side of the business , stay tuned , we have a lot of future work with our Youth in marginalized communities and the pups .
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thepawhouseestate.godaddysites.com/?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAabq6wymonU02_GTKpXzMgXwa9R0uJx1CA2aoiAS0q7vKxSzWaLxuDkuFrE_aem_6j3-B35UbT88UuZAx691IA
- Instagram: ThePawhouseestate
