This was the last text message I received from Sarai Cruz Negron, our vetting coordinator, before Hurricane Maria made landfall at Dead Dog Beach in Yabucoa, three hours later. It was just a few miles away.

By the time the storm was over, my home was destroyed and the island looked apocalyptic. There was no green – any trees left standing had been stripped bare; their trunks blackened. The ocean was brown and streets were under water. There was a curfew in place and cellphone service was non-existent.

On Monday morning, September 25th our small but mighty team finally reunited. There were tears but then we got down to business. Four days later we were the first organization to fly dogs off the island with Wings of Rescue. And from there, we never stopped.

Just nine days after Hurricane Maria’s devastation threw the entire island into chaos, our small but mighty team managed to organize a Freedom Flight for 60 dogs. We've flown 3,000 dogs since that flight, but to this day that flight remains the most emotional transport we have ever done. To meet some of the satos on that very first flight after the storm and see where they are now, click here.

This week marks the third anniversary since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and became the island's worst natural disaster ever in recorded history.

It will always be remembered as the storm that dramatically changed our lives and our rescue efforts. Thanks to the support of our community, The Sato Project has worked nonstop for three years doing relief work after Maria. Within this timeframe, our small, but mighty team has:

• Launched 77 Freedom Flight transports from Puerto Rico to the mainland U.S., the first just nine days after the storm.

• Greatly expanded the scope of our rescue efforts: Prior to the hurricanes, we typically rescued between 300-350 dogs annually. Since the storm, we have rehabilitated and transported 3,000 dogs.

• Increased our spay/neuter/vaccination community outreach efforts: Through our community voucher program and our partnership with Spayathon for Puerto Rico we have spayed/neutered and vaccinated over 6,700 dogs and cats.

• Launched a new initiative called 'No Dog Left Behind' which reconnects families with the pets they had to leave behind when fleeing the island. To date we have reunited nearly 200 dogs with their families.

• Distributed more than 130,000 pounds of humanitarian and animal relief supplies to individuals and rescue organizations across the island.

Each hurricane season is incredibly stressful for our team. We are on high alert for 4 months watching the Atlantic, channeling our inner meteorologists and readying for another hit. I truly do not know if we could ever repeat what we did in those months following Maria. I pray that we never ever have to. The number of dogs needing help continued to rise and we just could never help them all. It kept us awake at night and I know it fueled our team. Every time a plane took off we knew we could go out and rescue more.

Everyone wanted a Puerto Rican treasure.

It is three years since Hurricane Maria.

It was the day that changed us.

It was the event that made us stronger than we ever thought we could be.

And we will never forget it.

In gratitude,

Chrissy Beckles

Founder & President

Luna will always be a special rescue story for our team. As the eye of Hurricane Maria hurled over Dead Dog Beach, nearby security guards reported they could hear howling. The next morning, our rescue team went to the beach to see what was left of it. Once they got there, they found Luna and her mom. By some miracle, they had survived. Click here to read the rest of Luna's story and more stories of our very first hurricane survivors.