Check Out Katie Auger’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Auger

Hi Katie, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Dogs have been around me for as long as I’ve been alive, I grew up in a family who owned dogs and have gotten to appreciate them my entire life. I got my first companion dog Rocco when I was 17 years old. I’ve always been drawn to the Pit Bull type dogs despite their reputation, I begged my mom for weeks to let me get Rocco and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I’ve been an avid advocate for the bully breeds ever since I met Rocco, he was truly the best boy in the world. I started going to different rescue events, rallies and protests to promote the removal of breed specific legislation and to request better protection in our laws for our furry friends. Rocco & I spent the next several years living such a beautiful, happy life. He was with me for 8.5 years before he succumbed to cancer and was humanely euthanized to end his suffering. When Rocco passed away I was devastated, he was my best friend and we had been through so much together. Although my heart was broken from losing Rocco, I decided that I would volunteer my time with my local animal shelter walking dogs. Shortly after volunteering I started fostering as well help the struggling dogs make it out of the shelter. I also started volunteering with a local rescue fostering and helping them take care of 24/7 chained dogs in Flint as often as I could. (Shoutout to MPEP Outreach Programs!!)
I volunteered for years and then decided to start my own foster based rescue, something I had dreamed about doing for years! Volunteering really helped me see the ins and outs of the rescue world and helped me execute my plan of having my own rescue and Serenity Canine Advocacy Rescue & Rehab was born! Now our team gets to work alongside the rescue organizations that we have looked up to all these years, it’s such a cool feeling!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There is no smooth road when it comes to being involved in rescue. There is also much more work than meets the eye when it comes to running a non-profit organization. You are facing so much pressure from other organizations who need help, as well as people with dogs in the community who need help. You have to constantly plan and execute fundraising events and search for grant opportunities so you’re able to help animals, and have money put away for unexpected bills and situations so you don’t run out of funds. We are a foster based organization, so for every dog we take in, we have to find someone to open their home to them while we get them healthy and find them a better suited home which is always a challenge. We are all unpaid volunteers at SCARR, so not only do we do this on top of our normal 9-5’s, we do it out of our free time and we don’t get paid to do what we do. We do it because the dogs need us, and we enjoy helping others and making our community a happier place for our furry friends.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Serenity Canine Advocacy Rescue & Rehab was founded in 2023, since we started we’ve been able to rescue and care for over 65 dogs in our community. That number seems absolutely insane to reflect on for our first year and a half!! Our team is truly the best and I’m so incredibly proud of how much of an impact we’ve been able to have together so far. Our boots are on the ground and we will never stop caring for the dogs who need us. I’m so excited to see what the future has in store for us, and I’m looking forward to continuing to grow and help even more dogs in our area.

We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Some people when they think of success may define it as societal status, money, materialistic items… When I think of success, I think of the ability to change a dog’s whole entire world. The ability to take a broken, defeated, neglected, abused, sick dog, and nurture it back to health, restore its faith in humanity, and find them the home they’ve always deserved. The opportunity to totally change a living, feeling, breathing, sentient beings life in the most positive way ever, that’s success.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.serenitycanines.org/scarr
• Instagram: @serenitycanines
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/serenitycanines