From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of all of us at The Sato Project, I truly thank you for your support. Our quick response would not have been possible without you. Thank you for not forgetting about Puerto Rico.

P.S. Throughout our relief work, our team is also continuing to rescue more dogs as we are able to and care for the ones already in our program, including several critical care cases. Click here to read about Tony, a special sato who is helping our team stay #satostrong and was featured by Daily Paws.

As you may have read in our email last week or in the news, Hurricane Fiona hit almost five years to-the-day after Hurricane Maria hit Dead Dog Beach in 2017. Fiona dumped 30 inches of rain and the entire island lost power. Puerto Rico's grid is very old and struggling to recover from the damage caused by Maria, during which 80 percent of the electrical grid was destroyed. Hurricane Fiona caused catastrophic damage across Puerto Rico, destroying homes, displacing hundreds of people and devastating already overcrowded animal shelters.

Left: Fallen tree at Villa Michelle Albergue Animales shelter in Mayagüez. Right: Flooding at Santuario de Animales San Francisco de Asís in Cabo Rojo.

We responded immediately to this emergency. The Sato Project team has been working tirelessly since Fiona hit, making flight plans with our partner, Wings of Rescue, to deliver disaster relief supplies to Puerto Rico and evacuate animals as soon as possible from damaged shelters.

Because people like you shared our story on social media, LifeStyle Miami and Dr. Claudio Miro learned about our efforts in Puerto Rico and wanted to help. They flew a private jet last Saturday to the island and rescued 30 vulnerable satos and gatos from two shelters, El Faro de los Animales and Santuario de Animales San Francisco de Asís. Their facilities both sustained catastrophic damage during the storm. The tiny puppies and kittens were bottle fed before and during their flight by a veterinarian that traveled with them every step of the way.

While monitoring the path of Category 4 Hurricane Ian, our team coordinated our second flight with Wings of Rescue which evacuated another 130 dogs and cats Thursday morning. This flight truly would not have been possible without all of our trusted mainland shelter partners who stepped up on very short notice to take these animals in. Our 130 hurricane survivors were distributed between 15 shelters and rescue groups in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and all the way to Rhode Island. It is with much gratitude that we want to acknowledge:

The flight landed into Morristown Airport in New Jersey yesterday afternoon, and then all of our sato and gato treasures were on their way to new lives of safety thanks to these partners who jumped in to help in an emergency. Click here to see yesterday's flight covered on local News12.

Our third flight is scheduled for this Sunday morning and will evacuate another 30 dogs. Be sure to follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) to stay in the loop as our relief efforts continue.

All animals traveling have been quarantined, vaccinated, and have health certificates from licensed veterinarians that certify them healthy to fly. They will be available for adoption through the local shelters and rescue groups mentioned above. To help support our hurricane relief efforts, please click here to donate to our work, or sign up to foster or adopt a dog in need.

Another big way to help is to keep the conversation going about Puerto Rico and the situation that the Puerto Rican people and animals are facing. As of today, nearly 300 thousand customers are still without power. Because the water system requires power, many are also left without running water. Others have entirely lost their homes and everything they own.

You can start by forwarding this newsletter to your friends and colleagues. We need every voice we can to speak up for Puerto Rico right now in order to keep this crisis from disappearing from the news cycle.

This is a map of the region in the US where we are currently able to fly satos. If you have a shelter or know a shelter who can accept dogs, please email shelters@thesatoproject.org.

Sadly, Hurricane Ian has contributed to even more animals being in crisis. Now many shelters in Florida also need help. Many of our East Coast partners are currently full or have their spaces reserved to take in animals from Florida. So we are trying to expand our reach. Can you help?

Our major need right now is to get connected to shelters where we can fly satos from the terrible situation left behind by Fiona. Right now we can fly as far west as Kansas and as far north as Maine. If you work or volunteer at a shelter that has space to take animals or know of any shelters that do, please send an email to shelters@thesatoproject.org.

Sofie was extremely shy and traumatized when she was first rescued. After spending her young life in the streets, she didn’t know the security of a caring home, nor did she know that the humans around her could be trusted. But with patience, her foster family introduced her to consistent meals, couches, and pets—and slowly, with patience—she opened up.

That’s when they got a glimpse of Sofie’s spirit. This 30-pound cutie revealed a gentle and loyal demeanor. Soon, they uncovered a sage little pup, whose name is serendipitously rooted in the Ancient Greek word for “wisdom.” And while her foster family gave her a peek of the life she could have, Sofie waited, unknowingly, for a home of her own.

There was one waiting for her across the ocean on the mainland.

Images on the left: Sofie found on the street during her rescue Right: Sofie saying "Thank you for showing me love" to her foster mom.

Her new mom, Deanna, picked up Sofie from her Freedom Flight, still tucked in her crate from boarding the plane in Puerto Rico through the drive home. Sofie was scared, and our team worried that she might start from square one after being lifted, quite literally, from the comfort of her foster home in Puerto Rico.

But Puppins (the other sato pictured below), is who one might call an emotionally-intelligent pup, and he was ready to show her the way.

On his adoptaversary, Puppins did just that. You see, Puppins was Deanna’s first sato, adopted one day shy-of-a-year earlier. A sweet soul himself, he was ready to make Sofie feel right at home. Forever mom, Deanna, reports that a frightened and anxious Sofie wandered inside and he “dropped to the ground right away…[exposing] his belly until she felt comfortable enough to play.”

Sofie’s adjustment was faster than we could have ever expected. Since that fateful day, the two have been chasing each other around their yard, wrestling, sharing toys, and even watching sunsets side by side. Deanna couldn’t have said it better when she told us, “I think they were meant to be together.”

We think so, too.

Thank you, Puppins, for paying it forward. Here’s to both of you living your best lives forever!

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