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Dear
We are finishing the year off with a serious bang! We spent the first weekend of December executing back-to-back Freedom Flights, flying over 220 dogs to their new lives. The flights included dogs we rescued in the aftermath of the hurricanes, as well as a number of heart-wrenching owner surrenders. They also included over 60 owned dogs, part of our continuing #NoDogLeftBehind Program, in partnership with our friends at Wings of Rescue. These dogs were joyfully reunited with family members who had left the island in desperation, but had been unable to find passage for their beloved pets.
But we couldn't stop there! We are preparing to shatter our own goal of sending 200 dogs to safety this month.
Our team in Puerto Rico is working around the clock right now to prepare another 125 dogs for an epic freedom flight this coming Saturday, with stops in both Florida and New Jersey. Fifty of these are more owned dogs who will be reunited with their families just in time for the holidays.
By next week, we will have flown almost 350 dogs to safety this month alone. We have been able to accomplish this thanks to the dedication of our hard-working team, and the outpouring of support from everyone who shared and donated for
#GivingTuesday
. We have the best supporters and we are so grateful to have this amazing community always in our corner.
-- Chrissy Beckles, President and Founder
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Some Heartwarming Holiday Stories
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Puerto Rico is still in the middle (and definitely nowhere near the end) of a long recovery from the damage caused by Hurricanes Irma and MarĂa in September. Countless animals have been affected by the disaster. We are still being overwhelmed with calls for animals being found among uncleared debris, at sites where there is construction going on, and in abandoned properties. We've also been asked to take on some owner surrenders when people have found themselves in the heartbreaking circumstances of having to leave their homes for another place where they could not bring their pet.
We have tried to answer as many of the calls for help as possible, and thanks to your support, we have been able to say "yes" more often than not. In doing so we have rescued some very special pups this month to ensure more dogs have a chance to find a home for the holidays. For those who don't follow us on
Facebook
,
Instagram
, or
Twitter
, we wanted to share a few photos with you.
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Just some of the beautiful faces we've found in the past month.
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Itsy and Bitsy (top right) are two teeny little sisters who will be taking their freedom flight this weekend. Gigi (second from top) was found by workers who are trying to repair the power grid on the island. She is about 10 months old, has severe skin problems, is anemic, and has probably lived her whole life on the streets. She won't be on a freedom flight to a new home for a while, but along with all of these other pups, she now has a bright future ahead of her.
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Make a gift to The Sato Project in honor of someone you love!
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We are excited to share a new way to make a gift to The Sato Project in honor of a friend, family member, or co-worker, that will help ensure we can send more dogs home for the holidays.
We will send your gift recipient an email with the above image, notifying them about your gift in their honor. It's a wonderful way to show them you recognize their love for animals, and their desire to make the world a better place!
Click here to make a tribute gift today. If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Shepherd at jennifer@thesatoproject.com.
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Earlier this month we celebrated a fairytale ending for one of our very special critical care cases, Cassius. When
we rescued this handsome boy almost exactly one year ago, he was at death's door, and had to be brought to the clinic on a stretcher. Cassius is a Great Dane mix and should have weighed at least 80 pounds, but weighed only 39 when we found him by the side of the road. Yet despite his horrible physical state, we could tell right away that Cassius was
a
fighter,
so we gave him the name of one of the greatest of all time (Muhammad Ali's birth name, Cassius Clay). Cassius was in our care for a full year, and we were able to fund his extensive recovery thanks to the Alexander Plaza Critical Care Fund, which was started two years ago in memory of its namesake, who tragically passed away.
Cassius was not quite ready for adoption back in September, but after the hurricanes hit, he was at the top of our list for evacuating off the island to continue his recovery. Cassius took his Freedom Flight on one of the first flights off the island after Hurricane Maria, and was welcomed by a caring foster mom, Denisse. We are thrilled to report that earlier this month, Denisse decided that Cassius has found his forever home with her!
When we found him, Cassius was anemic and so malnourished he couldn't walk. Now he's healthy, happy and sitting pretty in his new home.
Dogs like Cassius epitomize the power of love and patient care to heal even the most broken-seeming animals. We look forward to many updates from Cassius' new happy life with Denisse, which give us the fuel we need to continue the often challenging work of rescuing.
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The Sato Project
is dedicated to rescuing abused and abandoned dogs in Puerto Rico, where there are an estimated 500,000 strays (referred to as "satos" in Puerto Rico). With only nine shelters on the island with over a 90% euthanasia rate, we have rescued almost 2,000 dogs, rehabilitated them with the highest standards of veterinary care, and found them loving homes on the mainland U.S.. We are also working to make systemic change on the island through community outreach and a Spay, Neuter, Vaccinate and Microchip Program.
The Sato Project is a 501(c)3 organization relying entirely on
volunteers and tax-deductible donations for our operations.
"We fight so the dogs of Puerto Rico don't have to."
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