- June 16, 2024
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Halifax Humane Society will celebrate the grand opening of its new dog adoption center at the Volusia Mall on Saturday, July 15.
The new center emerged out of necessity, but has become a way to further serve the community's animals, said Vershurn Ford, chief outreach and development officer for HHS.
In late June, the local animal shelter reported that it needed to temporarily suspend intake after 15 dogs were diagnosed with upper respiratory infections.
Ford said the outbreak triggered a dialogue between HHS leadership and its board about the shelter's current model of operations and how to make it more sustainable.
"One of the best things that we did was call the Volusia Mall," Ford said. "As luck would have it, [its management] are huge dog people."
On June 30, HHS announced that it had partnered with the Volusia Mall, at 1700 W. International Speedway Blvd., to open a dog adoption center.
The center will be housed in the former Rack Room Shoes storefront across from Champs Sports.
The 5,000-square-foot space will feature up to 15 dogs for adoption. Puppies will also be available for adoption during the grand opening, to be held from 11 a.m to 7 p.m.
“Our new HHS Dog Adoption within the Volusia Mall allows us to further our lifesaving efforts for the pets in our care," HHS CEO Adam Leath said in a statement to the Observer. "HHS stands committed to providing the best possible outcomes for pets. We hope you will open your heart and home to a new four-legged family member and come see us at our new location."
The adoption center came together quickly. Ford attributed the speed to the mall's management team.
"The mall was the first one that we connected with that was like, 'I love everything about this vision and we want to support it,'" he said.
The adoption center, Ford said, is not intended to add capacity to the shelter. But animal overpopulation is a problem in Volusia County, he added, and HHS seeks to address that in creative ways.
"We've done a lot of the same things for many, many years, and so it's time for us to start thinking creatively and connecting with people," Ford said.
