As storm clouds gather and hurricane season peaks, Halifax Humane Society is rolling out a digital lifeline for Volusia’s four-legged residents. In partnership with Petco Love, it’s launching Petco Love Lost—a free, AI-powered photo-matching database that scours community snapshots to spot and reunite displaced cats and dogs with their families, keeping pets safe and shelter doors closed when every minute counts.

Halifax Humane Society is calling on city and county officials across Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Holly Hill, Port Orange, DeLand, Deltona, New Smyrna Beach, South Daytona Beach, and Volusia County to integrate Petco Love Lost into their official animal control operations. The free platform allows pet parents to pre-register their pets with just one photo, so if a pet goes missing especially during or after a storm anyone who finds the pet can upload a photo and be instantly matched with the pet parent through the national database.

"Our goal is simple: every pet in Volusia County should be registered in this free system before a storm hits," said Sean Hawkins, CEO of Halifax Humane Society. "This technology can help reunite lost pets within minutes without them ever having to enter a shelter."

Petco Love Lost already partners with more than 3,000 shelters and rescues nationwide, including Halifax Humane Society, which automatically uploads every incoming pet to the platform. This has already led to dozens of successful reunions. But to maximize impact, the entire community must participate—shelters, veterinary clinics, rescue groups, and individual pet parents.

"Petco Love Lost is being used successfully in thousands of cities across the country," said Gina Knepp, National Program Manager for Petco Love Lost. "But Volusia County stands out as the very first countywide, coordinated deployment effort. That's powerful. When an entire region commits to reuniting pets with their families using a single platform, lives are saved, heartbreak is prevented, and our communities become more compassionate places."

"This is a unique moment for Volusia County to unite and centralize all lost and found pet reports into one powerful, easy-to-use system," said Hawkins. "The more people who use it, the more pets we can get home—fast, safe, and without ever setting paw in a shelter."

"You don't have to wait for a training session to use the tool now. We encourage every pet parent across Volusion County to go to PetcoLoveLost.org right now to upload a picture of your pet into the free platform. This three-minute action could literally save your pet's life!"