Dear Sato Supporter,

It's official. 'Mission Possible 11' is a mission accomplished! Like all of us, these last five months of the COVID-19 pandemic have not been easy for The Sato Project. For the majority of this time period, we had no idea when or if we would ever be able to fly dogs off the island again. But our incredible community supported us through these challenges every step of the way. And now, thanks to that support, 280 rescued dogs and cats have officially started their new lives on the mainland via our biggest transport ever. And with all of our kennels cleared in Puerto Rico, our team has been able to hit the streets and finally rescue more dogs. We look forward to introducing you to some of them in the future. But for now, please keep reading below about the historic achievement you helped us accomplish this month.

I hope that in this time of unending bad news, you can celebrate this good news with us: 280 animals are finally safe, loved, and 'home' for the first time in their lives.

In gratitude,

-- Chrissy Beckles, President & Founder



Top: Our volunteers unload the second flight of dogs and cats from Puerto Rico after they arrive in New Jersey. Bottom: Satos Mellow, Ercole, and Charlize meet their families for the first time in the airport parking lot. All photos by NYC Pet Photographer

After four+ months of not being able to fly any dogs out of Puerto Rico, our incredible community finally made the impossible possible. Not only did we fly dogs off the island this month, but we officially achieved the biggest Freedom Flight ever in The Sato Project’s nine year history. Over July 4th weekend and two packed private flights, 253 dogs and 27 cats flew from Puerto Rico to new lives on the East Coast. All of these animals were either rescued from the streets of Puerto Rico, pulled from overburdened municipal shelters affected by recent earthquakes, or saved from severe hoarding cases. We dubbed this historic mission 'Mission Possible 11 ' .

100 of the dogs onboard - all satos a part of The Sato Project’s rescue program - even flew directly into the open arms of their adopting families. Some of these families had been waiting as long as six months to meet their new family member. Each one these sato treasures carried its own special story of love from our team and community of supporters - like Charlize , our miracle girl who was found dumped, unable to walk and suffering from cancer but made a complete recovery, or Ercole , the former bait dog who was found abandoned and full of scars, yet held no grudges from all the cruelty he had faced . And so many more. To see all these dogs finally fly to their loving families after being stuck in Puerto Rico for so long filled all our hearts with joy. On every step of their big journey, there were tears and cheers of happiness . For a first-hand look at what Mission Possible 11 was like on the ground, watch this short video below. 

We hope that you can feel some of our joy as well . This historic mission was only possible because the support from our community. Please visit thesatoproject.org/mp11 or click here to see more beautiful photos of this incredible achievement that you were a part of. You can even watch a video of satos meeting their excited families for the very first time.

We would like to say a special ‘thank you’ to Wings of Rescue , GreaterGood.org , and Free Kibble for being our partners in making this mission possible. We would also like to thank Bark , The RTA Store , Sidewalk Angels Foundation , and Vodka for Dog People for providing the $50K match that helped us raise the needed funds to make this double-flight transport a success. Each of our satos’ unique stories are also only possible because of the love and effort of our amazing volunteers and the generosity of all our donors who helped us not only match, but exceed our $50K goal.

THANK YOU for believing in us and helping 280 dreams come true and 100 families become a little more complete. It takes a village to change this many lives at once and we are so grateful to have you a part of ours . 

Top: All of the dogs are organized inside the airport hanger in New Jersey before being let out of their crates and walked out to their families one by one. Middle left: The dogs wait patiently on the runway before getting loaded into the plane in Puerto Rico to take their life-changing journey. Middle right and bottom: our teams in Puerto Rico (middle right) and New Jersey (bottom) take a rare pause to celebrate the success of Mission Possible 11. To all our volunteers in Puerto Rico and the mainland: thank you for sharing your hard work, heart, and compassion with us. Top and bottom photos by NYC Pet Photographer .

Every time we have an airplane fly into Puerto Rico for a transport, we make sure that it doesn’t fly in empty. Our partners GreaterGood.org and Wings of Rescue help pack each plane with thousands of pounds of relief supplies that we help distribute to those who need it most. Both 'Mission Possible 11' planes came in with supplies and five days later on July 9th we held our third pet food pantry. Our team distributed 8,000 lbs of dog and cat food to the pets of Guánica. Guánica is one of the areas that has been most impacted by the ongoing earthquakes. This southwestern corner of the island is continuing to have earthquakes almost daily. 

The line of cars waiting to receive the donated food was so long that we brought surrounding traffic to a standstill. All of our food was distributed within the pantry's first hour of being open . Since the pandemic began, we have distributed 20,000 lbs of donated pet food from GreaterGood.org to hungry pets in Puerto Rico. We know that there is still additional need across the island and we plan to do another pantry as soon as we can.

8,000 lbs of dog and cat food and lots of happy 'customers' later - our third pet food pantry was a success! During a time when so many people and animals across the island are struggling, we are grateful that we are in a position to help feed more pets in need.

From rescue to recovery, it has been a long journey for Champ. But now we all have reason to celebrate. The success of his story belongs to all of us.

If you follow us on social media, then you might already know Champ’s story. But in case you don’t, we wanted to share his store here as well, because Champ’s story is so representative of what our #satostrong community is all about. 

When he was first rescued from the streets back in December, Champ was so emaciated that we did not know if he would live through that first night under our care. We had prepared ourselves for the worst. He was so thin, weak, and shut down, he appeared as though he might have already given up. But we wanted to give him a chance to fight anyway. When we posted about Champ to our community, our followers rallied behind him and cheered him on. And now, seven months later, Champ is a gorgeous, fluffy sato-shepherd who is healthy and happy. THIS is the magic that our community creates. 

Champ was the very last animal of all 280 dogs and cats to get unloaded from Mission Possible 11 . As he came off the airplane, our team of volunteers all started cheering . And after coming out of his crate, we all watched as Champ marched proudly out the door to meet his new parents. They were already there at the airport waiting for him. Champ now has a loving family and a huge backyard in New Jersey to call his own. 

In many ways, Champ is just like The Sato Project. Despite so many obstacles, he never gave up. All he needed was for a compassionate and generous community to give him a chance and support his fight. Thank you for being that community, for Champ and for all the dogs our organization cares for. We promise, just like Champ, that we will never stop fighting to keep giving more satos just like him the second chance they deserve. 

Champ's parents could not wait to meet him at the airport. Since welcoming him home, Champ has enjoyed every minute of settling into his new dream-come-true life. His arrival has also meant a lot to his family, who said: "We can't thank you all enough for making OUR dreams come true by bringing this beautiful dog into our lives! We were grieving two devastating losses in our family, and now he is helping us heal. We are the lucky ones." Photo by NYC Pet Photographer

"We fight so the dogs of Puerto Rico don't have to."