- February 20, 2025
Halifax Humane Society staff Victoria Kerry holds an adopted puppy as he and William Cossa sniff each other during the Puppy Preview at the new HHS Dog Adoption Center located in the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Chief Outreach and Development Officer, Halifax Humane Society, Vershurn Ford and Development Manager Michelle Hebb chat as they walk in the new Dog Adoption Center at the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Prospective dog owners stroll into the new Halifax Humane Society Dog Adoption Center during the Puppy Preview event at the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Halifax Humane Society staff Victoria Kerry holds another adopted puppy during the HHS Puppy Preview event at their new Dog Adoption Center in the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Puppies play during the Puppy Preview event at the Halifax Humane Society's new Dog Adoption Center at the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
A possible puppy parent is swarmed by puppies during the Puppy Preview at the Halifax Humane Society's new Dog Adoption Center at the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Puppies are available for adoption at the Halifax Human Society's new Dog Adoption Center at the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Ronnie Harris poses with his new puppy Sultan during the Puppy Preview event at Halifax Humane Society's new Dog Adoption Center in Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Ronnie and Dominik Harris pose with their newly adopted puppies Sultan (left) and Jones during the Puppy Preview event at the Halifax Humane Society's new Dog Adoption Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Mickey (left) and Charlie greet everyone that walks by during the Puppy Preview at the Halifax Humane Society's new Dog Adoption Center at Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
HHS staff Victoria Kerry processes adoption paperwork as Jarielys, Ariel, Myrna Vazquez, Judielys, Arielys and Ariel Pagan wait to take their puppy Bruno home at the new HHS Dog Adoption Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Halifax Humane Society staff Victoria Kerry works on adoption paperwork during the Puppy Preview at the new HHS Dog Adoption Center located in the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
HHS staff Victoria Kerry processes adoption paperwork while Becky Haze prepares Bruno's collar and Jarielys Pagan, Ariel Pagan and their mom Myrna Vazquez wait to take their puppy home at the new HHS Dog Adoption Center. Photo by Michele Meyers
Assistant Director of Operations Becky Haze holds Bruno before the Pagan family takes him home during the Puppy Preview event at the Halifax Humane Society's new Dog Adoption Center in the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Danielle Garrett holds Bruno's paw as Becky Haze prepares him to go home with his new family. Garrett adopted her dog Coco Puff in 2020 and wants to adopt another dog at the HHS Dog Adoption Center during the official grand opening. Photo by Michele Meyers
Ariel Pagan pets his new puppy Bruno's nose before he gets to take him home from the Halifax Humane Society's new Dog Adoption Center in the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Ariel and sister Jarielys Pagan beam as Becky Haze holds their new puppy Bruno before he goes home with them from the Halifax Humane Society's new Dog Adoption Center in the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Judielys and sister Jarielys Pagan smile as Becky Haze holds their new puppy Bruno before he goes home with them from the Halifax Humane Society's new Dog Adoption Center in the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Judielys, Ariel, Jarielys and Arielys Pagan smile as they hold their new puppy Bruno before he goes home with them from the Halifax Humane Society's new Dog Adoption Center in the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Shelby and her dad Adam Leath, CEO of the Halifax Humane Society, hang out with one of the puppies during the Puppy Preview event at the new Dog Adoption Center in the Volusia Mall. Photo by Michele Meyers
Six puppies were adopted in two hours during the Halifax Humane Society’s Puppy Preview on Friday, July 14.
The HHS leadership team hosted the event as a soft opening for their new Dog Adoption Center in the Volusia Mall. The official grand followed the next day.
HHS Chief Outreach and Development Officer Vershurn Ford, along with the leadership team, maintenance staff, animal care staff, volunteers and community service participants were “all hands on deck” after the entity partnered with the Volusia Mall to open the dog adoption center.
Halifax Humane Society CEO Adam Leath signed the contract in June, and the team completed the buildout in approximately two-and-a-half weeks.
“This was the brainchild of necessity,” Ford said. “As a leadership team, we had to be strategic about the future sustainability of the shelter and what that looks like. We were looking at other spaces to be able to provide adoptions. We thought about malls and the odds of something like this happening.”
Some people go in to the shelter and it’s a little sad for them. This is a whole new 21st century, ‘Hey, come see what we have.' People know who we are, so it’s a way for them to see what we do aside from the shelter. If you’re not going to come to us, we are going to come to you. Anything that we can do to get these dogs into the homes they deserve.
— BECKY HAZE, assistant director of operations, Halifax Humane Society
Becky Haze, assistant director of operations, has been with HHS for six weeks. She is excited about the change of pace the new center offers the dogs and the people who are considering adoption. The bright, airy environment, located in a venue where people go to shop, eat and hang out, offers a level of comfort people may not experience at the shelter.
“Some people go into the shelter, and it’s a little sad for them,” she said. “This is a whole new 21st century ‘Hey, come see what we have.’ People know who we are, so it’s a way for them to see what we do aside from the shelter. If you’re not going to come to us, we are going to come to you. Anything that we can do to get these dogs into the homes they deserve.”
14-year-old Jarielys, 12-year-old Judielys and 9-year-old Ariel Pagan were walking around the mall when they saw puppies playing in an enclosure just inside the brightly lit storefront. Ford invited them in, and a brindle puppy named Bruno greeted them.
“He is my favorite,” Ariel said. “He kept going around us.”
The DeLand residents were not planning on adopting, but after Bruno “chose” them, parents Ariel Pagan and Myrna Vazquez paid the special event adoption fee of $25, signed the paperwork, snapped some photos and took Bruno home.
HHS Development Manager Michelle Hebb is in charge of “going out and finding money.” She said the reduction in the adoption fee was made possible by a grant from the Bissell Pet Foundation’s Empty the Shelters program, which makes adoption affordable by reimbursing shelters that lower adoption fees.
Funding has always been a challenge for the nonprofit Halifax Humane Society.
Ford said pet and animal overpopulation in Volusia County requires a creative approach. With the community’s help, HHS should be able to address concerns regarding the welfare of animals in its charge, he said.
“We are a group of people who have complete passion for animals,” he said. “We want to make sure we can successfully take care of them.”
Haze attributes Leath’s experience advocating for animals — he was the previous Volusia County Animal Services director and served on the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Field Investigations and Response team — with his ability to lead the team.
“With him at the top of Halifax Humane Society, good things are coming and they are going to be coming fast,” she said. “I’m very excited for the future. I’m happy to be part of the journey and part of the team.”
