Dear Sato Supporter,

We are only in the middle of April, but it has already felt like a very busy and dynamic month. My team and I are currently preparing 80 dogs to take their Freedom Flight on April 28th while simultaneously organizing all of our logistics, supplies, volunteers, and other needs for Round 4 of The Spayathon for Puerto Rico. All the while, we have continued rescuing as many dogs as we can, including several critical emergency cases and entire families of mum and puppies. You can meet some of these satos and stay updated on their progress on our social media channels ( Facebook ,  Instagram , and  Twitter ) and read more about other vital aspects of our work happening this month below.

My small but mighty team is truly remarkable in what we are able to accomplish on a daily basis and I am so proud of this community that we have built. Thank you for being a part of it and supporting us in this life-changing work.

-- Chrissy Beckles, President and Founder

Banner photo by The Dogist
80 lucky satos to take their Freedom Flight - including the Hamilton pups!
In January, Chrissy and Daphne got to meet with Lin-Manuel Miranda and introduce him to the litter of puppies who were rescued and named in his honor. In less than two weeks these pups will finally be taking their Freedom Flight to their new lives.
On Sunday, April 28th, our biggest Freedom Flight of the year so far will take off from San Juan. 80 Puerto Rican treasures (and possibly a few more!) will have their lives forever changed as they fly to new lives on the mainland. A majority of the plane’s lucky passengers will be our own rescued satos. However, there will also be about twenty animals from our friends at  Santuario de Animales San Francisco (a shelter on the other side of the island we have partnered with previously), including some cats! Yes, you read that right: The Sato Project is flying some lucky gatos this month too. We are honored to help as many animals as possible find the lives they deserve. For every animal that flies off the island, a space is opened up for another one to be rescued from the streets.

Of our own sato passengers, there will be several very special ones, including lots of puppies, a few entire families of mums and pups, and our special little ‘Hamilton’ celebrities. This past New Year's Eve, The Sato Project received a call for help with an abandoned dog at a school who had just given birth. At the time, Lin-Manuel Miranda was on the island preparing for the January 11 opening of the Puerto Rico run of Hamilton . In honor of his visit home to Puerto Rico, everything he has done to help raise awareness for the island's devastation after Hurricane Maria, and his passion and advocacy for education, we named one of the pups Alexander Hamilton. We also put a call out on social media for Lin-Manuel himself and other members of his cast and crew to name the other puppies. This call was aided by the live capture of their rescue on Facebook Live by The Dodo . Well, as you can see in the photo above, Lin-Manuel heard our call and responded! Alexander Hamilton, Liza, Maria, Angelica, Lin-Manuel, and their mum Parcher have since all completed their veterinary protocols and will be flying to their new lives at the end of this month. The New York team can’t wait to welcome them and all of the other new arrivals. 

Angelica, Maria, and several other of our sato treasures flying on April 28th are still adoptable. Visit bit.ly/findyoursato if you would like to add a new family member to your pack this spring. 
The Spayathon for Puerto Rico returns for Round 4
The Spayathon for Puerto Rico is BACK for Round 4! In only three weeks, seven more week-long clinics will be spaying/neutering and vaccinating thousands of dogs and cats across the island of Puerto Rico at no cost to the pet owners. We are continually so proud to be a part of this historic initiative that is changing lives and preventing millions of additional lives from being born and suffering in the streets. 

We can’t believe it was a full year ago that this historic initiative first began with the goal of spaying/neutering and vaccinating 30,000 animals in a single year, over the course of four week-long free clinics. With three out of four of these rounds completed, the 26-member Spayathon coalition has already treated 24,904 dogs and cats. We are well on track to not only meet, but greatly exceed our goal! 

For Round 4, May 3-9, The Sato Project team will be heading to a new location in Humacao. Humacao is only one town over from Yabucoa, the home of Dead Dog Beach and the community where our rescue efforts have been concentrated since our founding over seven years ago. We know first-hand how great the need is for these services in this part of the island. We cannot wait to bring the Spayathon and its incredible impact directly to the people and pets of our own community. In the meantime, you can learn more about The Spayathon Initiative at thesatoproject.org/spayathon . See you soon Humacao! 
One of Luz's friends was walking along a street when she suddenly heard whimpering. Upon looking for the source, she found a tiny puppy that had been abandoned in a bucket on the side of the road. She picked her up and Luz decided to adopt her. Now, Luz and Chanel (pictured here at Round 2 of The Spayathon) are inseparable, and Luz was very grateful for the opportunity to get her beloved Chanel spayed and vaccinated for free. We are looking forward to helping more pet owners like Luz access vital veterinary care for the pets they love during Round 4, May 3-9.
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Pinto's Howling Success
Pinto was rescued from the streets of Puerto Rico with a fractured leg. But now he is completely healed up and just got adopted by a very special family close to The Sato Project's heart. Here he is with his new family members, Annelyse and Edith.
Pinto was found with his brother, Pietro, wandering in the streets of San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico. Poor Pinto had a fractured leg and had to be in a splint for six weeks. But day by day, with lots of love and care, his leg healed up and he was declared healthy enough to take his Freedom Flight and find his forever family. Both dogs flew last month. When Pinto first landed, he didn’t have a family lined up yet and went into a foster home. But it only took a few days for this lucky little to dog to land the ultimate family of any sato's dreams.

He was adopted by the one and only family of Alexander Plaza. Some of our longtime followers might remember Alex. Alex was an ardent dog lover and supporter of The Sato Project who tragically passed away in 2015 at the age of 24. In his honor, his family started the Alexander D. Plaza Critical Care Fund , which was established specifically to cover the veterinary expenses for rescued satos requiring intensive medical intervention, due to injury, abuse, disease or neglect. Since the start of this fund in his memory, we have been able to help many dogs in critical condition fight for their lives and not only win, but go on to live the happy lives of their dreams.

Pinto (now renamed Stout) is one lucky dog. A ny sato who lands in the arms of the Plaza family, no doubt has a long life of love and happiness ahead. Thank you so much to Alex's parents Edith and Angel, his sister Annelyse, uncle Dino and cousin David, and the Townleys for continuing to be a part of The Sato Project family and keeping us a part of yours as well.

A tiny sato who won big: congratulations to Pinto (now renamed Stout) on all of your biggest sato dreams coming true.
The Sato Project is dedicated to rescuing abused and abandoned dogs in Puerto Rico, where there are an estimated 500,000 stray dogs. With only nine shelters on the island with over a 90% euthanasia rate, we have rescued over 3,000 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 permanent change on the island through community outreach and a Spay, Neuter, Vaccinate and Microchip Program.
"We fight so the dogs of Puerto Rico don't have to."