Whispers of spring filled the evening air as some 280 guests exchanged greetings and entered the beautiful courtyard at the Windsor Beach Club for the 42nd annual Cause for Paws Gala, the largest fundraising event of the year for the Humane Society of Vero Beach and Indian River County.
As they enjoyed hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, guests were greeted by Humane Society leadership and staff, as well as several strategically placed, irresistible shelter residents.
Keenly aware that puppies are magnets for animal-loving humans, staff had brought along five canine charmers, brushed, fluffed and doing their adorable best to find fur-ever homes before the end of the evening.
BB, aka Big Boy, an energetic, 7-month-old Shih-tzu, was escorted by Kelsey Alving, who noted that the friendly little puppy “is scared to be alone.”
Nala, a sweet pit mixture, attended just to say hello, hoping to soon be available to be adopted into her own loving home.
Page and Tom Mead conversed with Gypsy, a cute black-and-tan Chihuahua, who strutted her adorable stuff in true diva fashion, eagerly charming each potential family.
Humane Society supporters Kathryn and Daniel LeBey said they sought a small dog because, they explained, as very frequent flyers, they always take their beloved pet companions when they travel, and find it far easier with a pint-sized pooch.
Rocky, a sweet 2-month-old mixed breed, was on his best behavior, hanging out with dog trainer/HSVB rescue supervisor Richard Hall.
Hall later attended to Everest, a handsome, energetic 2-year-old husky mixture, who looked hopefully up at potential adoptive parents with clear blue, take-me-home eyes.
Kittens, too, were among the adoptable charmers. Rescued as strays, tuxedo sisters Juniper, Joy, Juno and Jenna dozed and meowed at potential parents from within large, comfortable glass cages in the club’s elegant foyer.
Throughout the foyer and dining area, photos and information about adoptable animals and success stories were showcased. Also on display were some impressive statistics for 2025, including that 3,069 animals were cared for, 642 pets were fostered, 1,382 animals were adopted and 70 pets were reunited with their families.
Additionally, the HSVB has a 92.4 percent save rate, volunteers contributed some 43,800 hours and, to encourage people to keep their pets at home instead of surrendering them due to financial difficulties or other reasons, the shelter’s Pawsitive Impact program assisted with resources and referrals.
In the dining area, long banquet-style rows of tables and chairs were decked with crisp white-and-dark navy-blue stripes offset with crystal glassware. Bowls overflowing with gorgeous pink hydrangeas stretched the length of the tables, awaiting the sumptuous meal created by Windsor’s own Executive Chef Justin Schreiber.
Dinner was followed by a very exciting live auction, eliciting plenty of paddle boards waving for attention as participants fought to win one of the many exceedingly impressive donated items.
With proceeds still being tallied just days after the wildly successful evening, HSVB CEO Nichola Redmond was over-the-moon to share that a preliminary report showed the event had raised somewhere north of $800,000.
For more information, visit HSVB.org.
Photos by Joshua Kodis
