Dear Sato Supporter,

The holiday season has arrived and thanks to you, my team and I are full of reasons to celebrate - 100 reasons, in fact! This weekend, we can't wait to fly 100 rescue dogs to new homes just in time to spend the holidays with new families. There is still so much work to be done for the stray dogs in Puerto Rico, but for now we are relishing in all of the holiday magic that this community has made happen. Thank you for being in our corner and making all these holiday dreams come true. We have lots of other exciting things happening this month, so please keep reading below to learn more. 

In gratitude,

-- Chrissy Beckles, President & Founder



These are just a handful of the over 100 faces who will be taking their Freedom Flight to new homes on December 15th.

Thanks to the outpouring of support we received on Giving Tuesday last week, over 100 rescued satos will be flying to new lives just in time to celebrate the holiday season with their new families. This Sunday, December 15th, in the early hours of the morning, an airplane packed with rescue dogs will take off from San Juan, Puerto Rico . After making a short stop in Florida to refuel, the plane will continue north to its final destination in Morristown, NJ. Our New York team, new adopting families, and community of fosters and shelter partners will be waiting there and cannot wait to welcome all of these dogs to their new lives. Several entire litters of puppies, mama satos, seniors, and everything in between will be on board this plane, each one with their own special story - like Shadow.

Three years ago, Shadow (shown in the bottom right corner of the photo grid above) showed up on Dead Dog Beach. He was extremely fearful, and eluded our most diligent rescue attempts over many months. After Hurricane Maria made a direct hit on the beach, our rescue team feared he was lost forever. But then, by some miracle, this brave sato showed up again twelve days later. When we discovered that he had survived, our team renewed our determination to change his life so he would never have to face another storm alone on that beach again. It took us three years to gain his trust and for him to finally give us permission to rescue him. After six months of rehabilitation, Shadow is ready to fly to his new life and a new family who is waiting for him. 

Every single one of the dream-come-true stories on this flight would not be possible without our Freedom Flight partner, Wings of Rescue , and Tito’s Handmade Vodka, who is sponsoring part of the flight's cost . It would also not be possible without our community of supporters, volunteers, cheerleaders, and shelter partners.  Thanks to all of this support The Sato Project was even able to lend a hand to The San Francisco de Asís Animal Sanctuary (SASFAPR), another organization in Puerto Rico doing everything they can to help the island's stray animals. When we realized we would have some extra space on the airplane, we reached out to our friends at SASFAPR. They gladly helped us fill it with some of their dogs, who will now have their dreams come true as well.

If you are interested in adopting a new family member this holiday season, you can click here to see the handful of adoptable dogs still available on this flight. Or, you can also plan to visit one of our shelter partners who will be receiving some of our special holiday deliveries: Animal Haven and Bideawee in NYC, and Potter League in Middletown, RI.

Henry and his sato Finn, of the popular instagram account @KeepingFinn , are excited to visit Puerto Rico this week.

In the spring of 2018, our puppy Finn was chosen for a very special adventure. For an entire month, he traveled on a #RescueRide road trip that was documented by the popular social media account The Dogist (AKA Elias Friedman) to help raise awareness for shelter and rescue dogs all over the country. If you follow us or The Dogist on social media, then you already know what happened next: after the trip ended Finn was adopted by The Dogist's brother, Henry. Ever since, Finn has been living the life of every sato’s dreams - traveling the country, hiking and camping with Henry, and amassing thousands of followers and admirers in the process. Along the way, Finn and Henry have continued the original mission that brought them together: to raise awareness and support for rescue dog organizations all over the country.  They have raised thousands of dollars to support The Sato Project and many other organizations doing life-saving work. Their adventures can be followed on their popular Instagram account @KeepingFinn. Finn and Henry have never stopped advocating for Finn's cousins back in Puerto Rico who are still awaiting their own rescue.

We are so grateful to have Henry and Finn as sato ambassadors, and are excited to share that Finn is returning to Puerto Rico this week to do even more to raise awareness for where he came from. Henry and Finn arrive THIS WEEK and plan to help load the plane for our Freedom Flight, visit the place where Finn was rescued, and give personal thanks to our rescue team. You can follow their adventure on our social media accounts ( Instagram , Facebook, Twitter ). Are you a @KeepingFinn follower in Puerto Rico? There will also be a special meet-up for followers and supporters to come meet Henry and Finn in person in San Juan this Tuesday, December 17th, 4:30-6:30pm. Keep watch on our social media channels for the announcement of the location in the San Juan area.

Are you still searching for a holiday present for a special dog-lover in your life? Or a heartfelt Secret Santa present or stocking stuffer? Why not give a gift that also gives back! Help rescue a sato in honor of someone you love by making an honorary gift to The Sato Project. We'll send them a personalized email about their gift, or you can order special sato gift cards to give in person. Visit  thesatoproject.org/honorary-gifts to learn more or click on the image below.

Left: A close up on Abraham's adorably gray nose, Right: Abraham finally gets to snuggle with his new mom after waiting four months to meet her while he recovered from heartworm.

Angélica wasn’t necessarily looking to adopt a senior dog, but when she stumbled on a photo of Abraham, she just knew he was the one. She immediately applied to adopt and in mid-July it was confirmed that Abraham would be hers.

Unfortunately however, poor Abraham was rescued from the streets with a very bad case of heartworm - a disease in dogs that can be deadly if left untreated. Before Abraham could travel, we needed to wait for him to make a full recovery and be healthy enough to fly. Angélica was disappointed at first, but knew it was for the best and says that her love for him just grew “bigger and bigger by the day in anticipation.”

Finally, at the end of October, Abraham was ready to take his Freedom Flight. His new mom met him at the airport, and ever since it has been nothing but true love and no regrets. Angélica says that “Abraham is the sweetest, most kind dog…Ask anyone who’s met him, they’ll tell you the same thing. . . and he is a very thoughtful little dog, if I'm feeling down he’ll come to me and cuddle more, but he can also tell when I'm busy and he goes and does his own thing." The two of them have made a seamless transition into one another’s lives and get to spend many hours of quality time together, thanks to Angelica’s ability to work from home. We truly could not be happier for our little Abraham. The road to recovery was long, but thanks to Angélica , it was well worth the wait. Our sweet senior sato will get to live the rest of his life spoiled and loved, exactly as he deserves.

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