About our team

Francia Vogini

Board Member

President

My journey in rescue started with a white husky named Scarlett who is now 12 years old and is one sassy princess.  Believe it or not, I did not even realize my passion for dogs until I was 36 all thanks to Scarlett.  My husband and I currently have five huskies all with different personalities.  There isn’t a day that I don’t look at my dogs and think how incredibly lucky I am to be their mommy.  Rescue is important to me because my hope is that one day we won’t have to.  Nothing makes me happier to know a life was saved and has become an important member of a family. I believe that every dog should have a life of unconditional love because all they want to give is their heart!

Michelle Vastola Schalmo

Board Member

Treasurer

IIt all started with a husky named Colbert.  He was a classic black and white with soft blue eyes and a sassy attitude that said he was handsome, and he knew it!  As my husband (then boyfriend) said, he was a babe magnet, I will agree he certainly didn’t hurt the equation!  Colbert was our first husky rescue at 5 years young, a true gentleman!  He showed me all the amazing qualities of the breed, conveniently leaving out a few of the more challenging ones!  Despite the endless hair, damaged furniture, shredded shoes, unsolicited landscaping services, the constant fear of a jailbreak, and the early morning serenading; the love and joy a husky adds to my life far outweigh it all.  Animals have always been a part of my life and animal rescue is something I hold dear to my heart, so I jumped at the opportunity to become a part of this team of passionate people.  Together we are spreading the joy of being owned by a husky while helping all those sweet souls find the right human to love and appreciate for the rest of their lives.

Claire Elliott

Board Member

Foster director

My husky journey started with our now 7-year-old husky Atlas. He was an owner surrender and we adopted him when he was 7 months old. We already had a 1-year-old Labrador, Bella but had no idea what we had started.  We were recent empty nesters and looking for something to fill that void. A couple of years after adopting Atlas we were contacted about a 9-year husky living in an apartment that was going to end up in the shelter.  We reached out to Francia and offered to foster him. Maverick then began our life in rescue.  We have since fostered 26 huskies for Husky Haven over 5 years as well as numerous overnight stays, assisted with transporting huskies around Florida, and assessed dogs at the shelter. I have also photographed multiple huskies in the North Florida area for their adoption bios.

We fostered failed twice, back-to-back, with Rhea and Neo.  I started helping with processing fosters applications and then adoption applications.  I love the friendships I have made within the rescue and am inspired to work alongside people with the same passion for helping this misunderstood breed.  Volunteering with a rescue is the most challenging, heartbreaking, and rewarding experience. There is no better feeling than seeing these dogs come from a life at the shelter and being adopted into amazing homes.  Getting updates from their adopters is what keeps me doing this because every dog deserves a chance at a forever home.

Ashton Dotson

Board Member

Transport Director

My journey in rescue started with a husky name Carly.  We always talked about getting our Maximus a companion.  Through a Facebook page, I learned about Husky Haven of Florida and decided that is whom I wanted to adopt our new family member.  It was one of those “who rescued who “scenarios, and she has been my true companion from day one.  Not long after adopting Carly, I went full speed jumping right into volunteering.  I picked up every transport I possibly could.  It was during my first freedom ride transport that I fell crazy in love with a little white bundle of energy.  Lagertha, went straight from the shelter and has never left our family. It is a joy to be a part of this rescue family, meeting so many amazing people who all have the common goal of saving huskies.  It is a true joy to help the pups along their way to find their perfect forever homes.

Joan Robson

Board Member

FUNDRAISER director

Who doesn’t love Huskies?  My first husky was gifted to me by my brother many years ago, knowing that I was in love with these amazing, super smart, and beautiful dogs.  She was a champion show dog who competed in shows throughout NY.  Fast forward- I learned of the plight of homeless dogs and all my subsequent huskies were adopted from shelters or rescues.  Rescue became my mission. I volunteered for a husky rescue in NY.  I fostered more dogs than I can remember, transported them, and fundraised to help pay for medical bills.  I became passionate!

I became an animal advocate in NY, working to get the laws changed in NY to stop the sale of dogs in pet shops.  I also became a proponent of spay and neuter programs.

After working in a corporate medical lab as a QA manager for 25 years, I was laid off when my company relocated out of state.  I made the decision to move to FL and contacted Francia Vogini at Husky Haven, whom I had become acquainted with while rescuing in NY. I told her I was interested in volunteering and asked what was needed of me.  She immediately responded with fundraising. The rest was history.

Since my move to Florida, I have been volunteering full-time with Husky Haven of Florida full-time for about three years.  Currently, my primary function with HH is fundraising, which I thoroughly enjoy.  I also help with transporting and shelter assessments.

Without strong fundraising efforts, we would not be able to save the number of dogs that we do. Many dogs are abandoned or dumped in shelters and medical care is costly to save them.  I was given our fundraising Facebook page to manage the Husky Haven of FL Shop.  I coordinate various fundraisers such as biannual online auctions, monthly raffles, vendor sales, and various other money-making events. The more money I raise, the more huskies we can help.

My heart is full each time I complete a successful fundraiser, knowing that we can help more medical dogs, and save some of these beautiful dogs from euthanasia.  I absolutely love helping this breed!

Maria Ross

foster application Processing

I have been rescuing animals as far back as I can remember into my childhood– from a limping baby chic and birds to an almost drowned kitten, to stray dogs and now, huskies. While I love all animals and there isn’t one, I wouldn’t try to help, Siberian Huskies are very special to me. My love affair with the breed started over 10 years ago when I got our first baby – Rogue (aptly named). Fast forward 10 years later, 2 human kids, 1 more rescued dog, and 1 rescue cat, and I cannot imagine a life where there isn’t a pair of discerning blue eyes telling me exactly what they think about what I’m saying or doing and, where fur isn’t a household staple.  It is my love of everything husky – the strong will, the ingenuity, the exploration, the loving, and the sass - that brought me to this amazing rescue.  In a world where we have lost track of what is truly important and where almost everything is ‘disposable’, I wanted my life and our family’s life to stand for more than just being and existing.  I wanted my kids to learn we have a duty to protect those that can’t protect themselves and that love is ours free to give and costs nothing. I wanted to help all the huskies that were bought from a store or breeder because of their good looks but abandoned because they got to be ‘too much’.  If she hadn’t ended up in our family, this could have been Rogue’s fate, because sometimes she is ‘too much’; that thought alone makes me feel sick and heartbroken.  Every dog deserves to be loved, spoiled, and understood. So, my family and I are committed to helping as many dogs as we can so that they may never suffer another day and that all that they know going forward is how much they are loved unconditionally.  And the hope is that one day, there won’t be any huskies that need to be rescued.

Mariann Cellamare Eiler

Application coordinator

About a year and a half after our first husky passed and both of our children went off to college, I was scrolling through Facebook and saw a picture of a gorgeous blue-eyed beauty with a cast on her leg. I knew as soon as I saw her picture, we had to rescue her. It was love at first sight. Shortly after adopting Mia, we decided to start fostering. It did not take very long before we “foster failed “with Jasmine, our brown eyed beauty. I also started helping with fundraising, home checks and assessments. Volunteering as always been a passion of mine, first in my children schools and scouting and now with Husky Haven. It is a dream come true to retire and become a part of this special family of volunteers dedicated to finding these pups their furever homes.