Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Aguirre.
Hi Katie, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Hunter’s Village Rescue was created after our community came together to rescue a gorgeous German Shepherd who was alone on the streets for 1-3 months in Hunter’s Creek. It was a big community effort that had a beautiful happy ending. I became so involved I couldn’t sleep on stormy nights worrying about the pup. He was so terrified and would not let anyone near him. We brought in a trapper who set a trap and I was responsible for refreshing the food in the trap daily and letting out wildlife that was wrongly trapped. It was an emotional journey that ended on Dec. 27th, 2020 when he finally entered the trap. I took him for vetting and asked our community to help with costs. The outpouring of support was amazing. In the coming weeks, I got calls every time there was a lost dog or a stray dog sighting. I quickly identified a need and decided to pull together a team to start Hunter’s Village Rescue (we named the GS Hunter as we live in Hunter’s Creek).
A group of community members who were also strongly impacted by “Hunter’s” journey joined my board as we developed our nonprofit dog rescue! Hunter’s Village Rescue was born in January 2020. The mission and vision of Hunter’s Village Rescue is to save dogs in need by placing them in loving forever homes. We are a foster home-based nonprofit dog rescue located in the Hunter’s Creek Community (SW Orlando), Florida. HVR identified a need in our community to assist, rescue, provide medical care, shelter, safety, and love for abandoned and unwanted animals.
Our community continues to be an enormous support making our mission possible. We have saved hundreds of dogs already as well as helped animals in need in our community.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been a rewarding road but not necessarily smooth. It’s an emotional journey. We can’t save them all which is really very hard. We have to try hard to focus on the ones we CAN save because otherwise we burn out quickly.
The stories we hear and the way people will dispose of a dog is absolutely heartbreaking. I can’t tell you how many tears I’ve shed for dogs I haven’t even met.
We are 100% foster home based which means we must have a confirmed foster before we commit to intake. This is by far our largest hurdle. Everyone tags us and sends us awful heartbreaking stories, but unless people step up to foster our hands are tied. Our board can only foster so many dogs on top of their own personal dogs.
It is an exhausting difficult road. We all work full time jobs and do this as volunteer work outside of our 9-5’s. As difficult as it is, the rewards of a scared pup trusting you and kissing you makes it all feel worth it. Getting a 6-month update from an adopter whose world has changed for the better due to their new best friend reminds us why we do it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
For my real job……I am an Agent Education Manager for a work from home virtual company, Working Solutions. I have been with them since 2008.
In the rescue, I am the founder and president. I have a board that consists of 3 women total. Myself, my adoption coordinator and my foster coordinator. We each work full time jobs and do this in addition. This is 100% volunteer work. We are a 501 c3 non profit organization.
What makes you happy?
Giving an unwanted pup a 2nd chance at life is one of the best feelings on earth. Dogs are so forgiving and resilient. With love, structure and consistency watching them transform is amazing.
A doggy kiss and snuggle makes everything in the world feel right, even if just for a fleeting moment.
Contact Info:
- Email: huntersvillagerescue@gmail.com
- Website: https://huntersvillagerescue.rescuegroups.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/huntersvillagerescue/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/huntersvillagerescue
