Pet Support Center
The Pet Support Center works with pet owners in crises to provide support and resources to keep pets in the home that loves them.
It’s your commitment that drives the no-kill movement and H.A.L.O. wants to support you, our community, every step of the way so that together we increase our lifesaving goals and further improve the relationships we each have with our pets!
Financial Resources
Owning a pet comes with a lot of financial responsibility. The following article goes over the cost of having a pet and ways to save money along the way: “The Ultimate Money-Saving Guide for Dog Owners”. While the article focuses on dogs, the information can be applied to other pets as well!
The following groups and companies are aimed to help people wanting to keep their pets, but are struggling financially. Please check out these resources if you are needing aid:
Waggle– Crowd Funding for Pets
Care Credit– Credit Card for Veterinary Care
Vet Billing– Payment plans for Veterinary Care
Pet Friendly Housing Search
There are many pet-friendly apartments, townhouses, and homes available. We have provided a couple helpful housing search engines to assist in your search.
Apartment Advisor– compare pet-friendly rentals ranked by best value.
Apartment Guide- search by neighborhood, size, price, etc. and filter with their pet friendly tag.
MyNewPlace– input preferred location then set settings to pet friendly.
My Pitbull is Family is a 501c3 non-profit who’s mission is to keep families together by advancing dog-inclusive rentals/insurance policies.
Medical Resources
Pet Food Assistance
The following groups’ mission is to assist pet owner’s in supply pet food to their beloved animals.
For the Love of Paws– Local Pet Food Pantry
Feeding Pets of the Homeless– Pet Resources for Homeless Pet Owners
End of Life Services
Aiding your fur baby at the end of their life is one of the hardest parts of being a pet parent. The following resources can help you and your pet in your time of need:
New Child in the Home
Most of the time, animals can be easily transitioned into accepting a new family member in the home. Here are some articles that discuss how to help ease that transition:
“Dogs and Babies”– ASPCA
“Cats and Babies” – ASPCA
“Preparing Pets for a New Baby” – Safe Haven Cat Shelter
Experiencing Behavioral Issues
Is your pet displaying unwanted behaviors that have led you to the decision to give them up?
Aggressive behaviors can be alarming and confusing for everyone involved. This article (link here) goes into detail about what your next steps are and how to manage these behaviors.
If you are having trouble with unwanted growling from your dog, please review the following article for helpful tips on how to manage the behavior: “Does your Dog Sometimes Growl at You”
Our staff is always here to help provide advice, just give us a call or stop in to our main shelter in Sebastian. We also offer free training at our main shelter for any pet adopted from us. We have also introduced a new two week board and train program for all pups! Visit our training page (link here) for more information.
If you are in search of an in-home trainer, we highly recommend Hailey Nottage with K9 Embrace, LLC. She works with many different behavior and obedience issues. She can be reached via email at [email protected].
Introducing a new pet in the home can cause unwanted behaviors to arise if introductions are not done properly. Our trainers at H.A.L.O. have put together helpful handouts that guide you in introducing new pets to current pets to assist in avoiding these unwanted behaviors and ease the transition for everyone involved.
“Introducing Your New Dog To Resident Dog”
“Introducing Your New Cat to Your Other Pets”
The following handout encompasses a wide range of cat behaviors you may be experiencing and offers helpful advice to help curb unwanted behaviors. Please read through if you are experiencing behavioral issues with your cat.
Adding a Puppy to the Family
Puppies are super cute and provide lots of love and companionship, but they are a lot of work and require socialization and training from a young age in order to make sure they grow up to be a confident dog.
Crate training can be super helpful in establishing a routine for your puppy. Read this article for an in depth crate training guide!
Orphaned Kitten Guide
The Orphan Kittens booklet is a 12-page resource about kitten foster care—from initial assessment all the way through to adoption. Covering issues such as determining age, feeding, stimulation, veterinary needs, and even compassion fatigue and self-care, this is a great tool to help foster parents feel prepared to care for a kitten.
Click here to find out what to do if you have found a kitten!
Wildlife Resources
Hurricane/Natural Disaster Preparedness
- Pet carriers! Please make sure that you have the appropriate travel carriers for your animals. This will ensure safe transportation for your pets and most evacuation shelters require these before allowing you into the facility. Make sure each carrier is labeled with the animal’s name, breed, sex, medical needs, and your current contact information.
- Sign up for your local shelter that accepts pets ahead of time. Shelters have limited room and that means some people and their pets will be turned away. Indian River County does have a pet-friendly shelter but they do suggest you complete the registration form in advance. For more information, Click Here.
- Food and Water. We suggest having two weeks of food and water on hand. Most times after a major hurricane, gas is scarce, roads are impassable, electricity is down and stores remain closed.
- Medications. If your pet has daily medications, the two-week rule applies here as well. It is also a good idea to apply flea treatments and heartworm preventatives prior to a hurricane.
- Please have your pets microchipped. It is very important that your animals are chipped AND they have your current contact information. During a major hurricane, pets often get separated from their families and microchipping is their best bet in finding their way home. Contact your veterinarian to chip your pet for a nominal fee.
Referral List
Since H.A.L.O. is a private, non-profit organization, we do not receive any funds from the local or state government, we do remain at capacity a majority of the time and work off a waitlist. With more animals needing to be surrendered than there are being adopted, we can only take animals in as space becomes available. As a result, we highly recommend reaching out to the rescues on our Local Referral List and State Referral List and inquiring if they are able to help any sooner.
Just For Fun
Pets are part of the family and, sometimes, they need their own space too! Check out this article (suggested by students from LearningHaven) for great tips on transforming your garden shed into a pet paradise!