Dear Sato Supporter,

As this surreal Covid-19 chapter in all our lives continues, I hope that you and your family have been able to stay safe and healthy. My team and I are still hard at work caring for the 93 dogs currently in our program and remain focused on getting through this. But we've only been able to stay #satostrong because of this community’s incredible support. I have been blown away by the positive response we've received so far for our ' Foster From Afar ' program. Thank you so much to everyone who has signed up to virtually foster one of our satos currently stuck in Puerto Rico. Not only does your support help the lucky sato that you signed up for but it also supports our ongoing rescue efforts to help even more dogs in the streets.  Amidst a global pandemic that is affecting everyone, we are so inspired by everyone who is willing to fight for the stray animals who still need us. Thank you for being a part of our community. We are truly so grateful to have you on our team. 

In gratitude,

-- Chrissy Beckles, President & Founder



The Covid-19 pandemic continues to greatly impact The Sato Project’s daily rescue operations. 

For more detailed information on how Coronavirus is affecting our rescue efforts, click here to read a longer statement on our website.

Over the past month, we were honored to have several exciting pieces help spread the word about our efforts to new audiences. Namely, t he Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting published an in-depth report and photo diary of our work on the frontlines of dog rescue. For an inside look into the journey of what a sato goes through from being rescued in the streets to taking their Freedom Flight, we encourage you to take a look. The Sato Project was also featured in a short story for the kid’s section of The New York Times , as well is in articles for LatinAmericanScience.Org and This Dog’s Life .  Visit our website to see all of our recent press.

Photo of Chrissy Beckles and Pinchata by Jamie Holt. Click here to see more of Jamie's wonderful photos of our rescue team in action and her in-depth report for the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

Our team has been overwhelmed by the amazing support we've received so far through our new 'Foster From Afar' program. Thank you so much to everyone who has signed up to virtually foster one of our satos currently stuck in Puerto Rico. As promised, we plan to continue adding more of our 90+ dogs to this program. In honor of upcoming Mother's Day on May 10th, we decided to add all our current sato mums, like Nica. Nica recently gave birth to eleven(!) puppies and has been the epitome of a #satostrong mum. Would you like to virtually foster a sato mum like Nica for Mother’s Day? A nyone who signs up to foster one of our three sato mothers will receive a ‘sato mum’ digital postcard like the one below - perfect to keep for yourself or send for a digital Mother’s Day gift. Click on the image below to learn more or v isit thesatoproject.org/fosterfromafar .

Left: Esther and her sato Sydney (on her lap) patiently wait for new satos to arrive at Newark Airport so they can greet them and send them on their way safely. Right: She gets ready to drive a carful of newly arrived dogs from Puerto Rico to their foster or forever families on the East Coast.

From the moment they come into our care, every single one of our satos goes on a similar journey. After getting rescued from the streets by our rescue team, they pass through the hands of our vetting team, next, our adoption and foster team, and then, ultimately, our transportation team. At the very end of their journey, they get passed into the hands of their forever family. The person who helps oversee that final step of a sato’s pathway to their dream life is our East Coast Transportation Coordinator, Esther Heine. 

Esther's own journey with The Sato Project began in 2012, when the organization was just barely one year old. She found out about our rescue efforts from family members who had traveled to Puerto Rico and witnessed the stray dog crisis firsthand. Esther reached out to get involved and started as a volunteer transporter, driving dogs from the airport to their foster or forever families. Fast forward e ight years later and now Esther is a core leader for our East Coast operations. Whether a Freedom Flight arrival of over 200 dogs, a special event, or an individual dog in need of transportation - Esther can always be counted on to be right there in the middle of it, making sure every sato is safe and where it needs to be. For every Freedom Flight that lands, Esther makes sure each dog has a ride to wherever they need to go next. If they are not getting picked up by their adopting families, then she matches them with a volunteer driver. If she can’t find one, Esther drives them herself. Esther also books our commercial Freedom Flights and is the first one there to greet our satos when they arrive at either Newark or JFK. In addition to all of her transportation duties, Esther is also a sato foster mom. W hen asked how many lucky satos she has fostered throughout the years, she knows the exact number: 37. And she can tell you a story about every single one: there was Pasha, the blind one who would get lost in her house, Guardian, her first pit bull, Rosie, the 'one who got away', and Sydney, the one who didn’t.

But among all her duties, Esther’s most favorite part is getting to be the very last step in a rescue dog’s journey. Getting to see the reactions of excited new families meeting their sato for the first time is the magical reward that makes every long drive and long Freedom Flight day worth it.  We are so grateful to have Esther as a longtime Sato Superhero and we know that our satos are, too. Thank you, Esther, for your eight years unwavering dedication and advocacy on behalf of all our Puerto Rican treasures. We cannot imagine our team without you. 

Left: Esther escorts a sato down a runway for a community adoption event. Right: Esther (center) and fellow Sato Superheroes, Elba (left) and Luanne (right), wrap up meeting a group of satos at Newark Airport early in the morning and sending them all off with their new families.

After getting abandoned by family who did not want her because they thought she was pregnant, Fairy finally has a new family who promises to love her forever.

When Fairy first came into our care, she was suffering from mange and in dire need of veterinary care. And to add insult to injury, we were told that her previous owners did not want her anymore because she was pregnant and they did not want to deal with the puppies. Yet, when our veterinarians examined her, they discovered that she was not pregnant at all. We do not know why her previous ‘family’ made that mistake, but we are sure glad that they did. We thought Fairy deserved a new family who would cherish her like the sato princess she is. And now, thanks to this #satostrong community, that is exactly what she has .

Fairy’s parents, Jan and Ritchie, have been active followers of The Sato Project for quite awhile and always knew they would eventually add a sato to their family. They had a rough idea on what kind of dog they wanted and were waiting for one to shout out to them. Fairy was not that dog. She was scrappy looking, had giant pointy ears, and definitely did not fit the image that they had in mind. And yet, after first looking at her photo, they just couldn’t get her little face out of their heads. As her dad Ritchie says, “There was something about her: the look of ever so slightly confused displeasure, the way her legs seemed to go in seven different directions at once. And, those EYES.” 

They decided to go for it and now, two months later, they say they are "crazy in love" with their little fairy (who is also known affectionately as “Fairy Pig”). They fell for her instantly and so did her dachshund brother, Zeus. Her mom, Jan, describes her as “confident, a teensy bit naughty, and 100% love.” Now Fairy gets to spend every moment of her life either non-stop playing with Zeus around the house or snuggling with their parents, who now could not care less that she does not look like the dog they originally had in mind: “ It just doesn’t matter,” her dad says, “because we are so glad she’s here. ” And we are quite certain that Fairy is very glad she is there, too. 

Whether playing constantly around the house or taking naps together in the car, Fairy and her new brother Zeus can't get enough of each other.

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