Our Journey
H.A.L.O. No-Kill Rescue was created in 2006 with a mission to create a NO-KILL safe haven for abused and abandoned animals in Indian River County. We believe in a community where there are no more homeless pets and that together we can eliminate the killing of companion animals. For over a decade, H.A.L.O. has advocated for our community’s pets, paved the way for no-kill rescue, and reduced euthanasia by 92%!
What sets H.A.L.O. apart from other shelters is that we go to extraordinary measures to provide support for the at-risk pets in our community. We will NEVER euthanize based on age, space, medical needs, or behavioral issues. Our commitment to save lives does not carry a time limit or price tag and we aim to provide exemplary quality of care and meet combined behavioral and medical needs. Once an animal walks through our doors, we make a pledge to provide them with the physical, emotional, and medical care needed until a fur-ever home is found.
We depend on animals for everything including unconditional love and H.A.L.O. ensures they can depend on us in return.
2005
Founder and Executive Director, Jacque Petrone, took over Professional Animal World, a boarding and grooming establishment. One fateful day, she received a phone call asking for help in saving a litter of orphaned newborn kittens. Unable to find a safe place in Indian River County to bring them to, she realized what a tremendous need there was for a no-kill shelter. Our County euthanasia was over 50%. The first year, 225 lives were saved!
2006
Helping Animals Live and Overcome, now affectionately known as H.A.L.O., was established and received its non-profit status becoming the first no-kill rescue shelter in Indian River County.
2007-2009
In order to save more lives and provide quality of care to the rescues, H.A.L.O. focused on fundraising for improvements to the shelter, including a new air conditioning system, quarantine area, additional dog runs, and new cat condos.
2010-2011
H.A.L.O. established community partnerships with Petco and PetSmart in Vero Beach to increase exposure for our adoptable animals and increase adoptions! One acre of land behind the shelter was cleared and fenced in order to give the dogs in H.A.L.O. ‘s care the exercise they needed to thrive.
2012
H.A.L.O. celebrated 5,000 adoptions! In order to reduce the “oops” litters and lower intake numbers, we partnered with local, well-established veterinarians and introduced the Low Cost Voucher Program which provides residents of Indian River County with a reduced cost spay/neuter. We also opened our “FIV House,” which is a stand-alone facility to exclusively house H.A.L.O.’s FIV+ cats.
2013
H.A.L.O. focused on three (3) key areas in the shelter: increasing our volunteer pool, adoptions, and saving more lives. And boy, did we ever succeed in these three areas! H.A.L.O. also created a new brand, launched a new website and became a Best Friends partner.
2014
H.A.L.O. opened the VB Adoption Center in the Indian River Mall for cats, kittens and small animals. In just one month open, 24 pets found their fur-ever homes!
2015
H.A.L.O. opened a thriftique, H.A.L.O.’s Rescued Treasures, which is run by a dedicated team of animal lovers with ALL profits going directly to the animals at H.A.L.O. Our first year proved to be very successful thanks to H.A.L.O. ‘s great supporters!
2016
H.A.L.O. introduced the Angel Wings Adoption Program which allows an “Angel” to sponsor a dog or cat and waive their adoption fee. This increased adoptions by over 40%! We also made several improvements to the facility including, creating a “Meet & Greet” room, constructed 10 runs in the back field and remodeled 10 large dog runs.
2017
H.A.L.O. celebrated 10,000 lives saved! After Hurricane Maria, H.A.L.O. organized our largest rescue pull yet and chartered a plane flying in 69 dogs from Puerto Rico giving them a freedom flight to a new life full of wonder and opportunity.
2018
We implemented 3 additional lifesaving programs: Working Barn Cat Program, The Canine Good Citizen Ready Program and The Ambassador Foster Program. The programs proved successful as we saved more lives than the previous year!
2019
To increase life-saving capability, H.A.L.O. formed The Misfits Program where H.A.L.O. trainers, handlers, and volunteers work extensively to rehabilitate homeless pets with behavioral issues to get them into fur-ever homes. A Cat Medical Room and Pharmacy with a full lab was built to increase life-saving care. After Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas, H.A.L.O. worked with GreaterGood.org to rescue 95 dogs and 1 lucky pot-cat. And… we were awarded a $100,000 grant from Impact 100 to further the expansion building campaign of 2020, H.A.L.O. ‘s Enrichment Center!
2020
Surviving 2020 meant reinventing ourselves. As we watched donations decrease rapidly, we saw a huge influx of surrenders with many of them requiring medical care. We quickly learned how to adapt to a digital world and created fun online campaigns to stay in touch with our supporters. Most importantly, we focused on the silver linings. While everyone was working from home, our foster program grew exponentially, our adoptions increased by 30% and we saved over 1,500 lives!
2021
It was an exciting year for H.A.L.O. as we celebrated 15 years of NO-KILL rescue, a county save rate of 92%, and over 18,000 lives saved! H.A.L.O. also received the funding to purchase a 2019 Ford Transit Van so we can now safely transport our precious cargo. We also became one step closer to realizing our dream of H.A.L.O.’s Enrichment Center when the land where the facility will sit was cleared to prepare for the next step in building!
2022
In 2022, we refocused our efforts on the 10% being left behind in traditional shelter settings – the “Misfits” and medical cases. In order to further this mission, we appealed to our amazing community for help and were able to purchase an x-ray machine and ultrasound machine so we can triage the medical cases being surrendered and provide immediate care. We also purchased a generator to power the entire shelter in the event of a major storm or disaster. These lifesaving tools will help H.A.L.O. continue to provide the best care possible to the homeless pets in our community!
2023
While 2023 offered many challenges with high surrender rates and low revenues, we realized the need to provide more lifesaving opportunities for the pet parents in our community by providing education, training, and support services for families so they have an alternative to surrendering. We began offering specialized training and boarding services dedicated to keeping care up and costs down which helps reduce intake and provide peace of mind to pet parents struggling with a heartbreaking decision. We also began the construction of new dog runs to greatly improve care for the Rescues!
