This has been an extremely busy month for our small but mighty team. We flew 201 dogs and cats off the island just in time for Valentine's Day and then immediately turned around and saved 80 more dogs before they were euthanized at an overcrowded municipal shelter. Keep reading below for more on both life-changing missions.

Additionally, my team and I are proud to announce that The Sato Project is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Stay tuned for celebrations to come as we commemorate this important milestone. But for now, I just want to say 'thank you'. We never would have made it this far without the support of our incredible community.

Top left and bottom right: our team in Puerto Rico prepare all the dogs and cats to be loaded into the airplane. Top right and bottom left: Satos are unloaded at the plane's final stop in White Plains, NY. Top right photo by @AdoptableDogsofNYC.

Thanks to you, our #satostrong community, over 200 families received a very special Valentine this year. Our team in Puerto Rico worked through the night on February 12-13th to pack a privately chartered airplane with as many dogs and cats as would safely fit. In the early morning hours of the 13th, the plane took off from San Juan. It made three stops: Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Farmingdale, NY, and White Plains, NY. At each stop, the load got a little lighter as some of the precious cargo departed and embarked upon their new lives. By that afternoon, 201 dogs and cats reached their intended destinations thanks to our special ‘Love is in the Air’ Freedom Flight.

At the final stop in New York, 60 lucky satos were welcomed at the airport by their new forever families. These satos included dogs like Tito, one of 50 chihuahuas rescued from a horrific hoarding situation; America, who was rescued from a junkyard with a litter of puppies; and Roi, who was saved from euthanasia at a municipal shelter, and so many more. These satos will now be cherished as beloved family members for the rest of their lives. 

Clockwise from the top right corner: Ten Ten (photo by @AdoptableDogsofNYC), Tito, America, Roi, and Craig are are cuddled by their new families at the airport in White Plains, NY. Click here to see more photos of our newest arrivals meeting their families for the very first time.

We are so grateful to our entire community for making these dreams of everlasting love come true. None of these new beginnings would be possible without our partners, volunteers, or donors. We would like to say a special thank you to Wings of Rescue, Tito's Handmade Vodka, and the team at Million Air hangar for all of their support.

Click on the video below to see a quick recap of the magic you helped make possible. Or visit our ‘Love is in the Air’ webpage to see more photos of this life-changing mission in action.

As a follower of our work, you might already know our story: our Founder and President Chrissy Beckles first visited Puerto Rico in 2007. As a dog lover, she was horrified by the number of stray dogs she saw starving and suffering in the streets. Little did she know at the time how much that trip would go on to change her life forever. Chrissy began volunteering with other organizations and started rescuing one dog at a time as finances would allow. In 2009, she quit her job to rescue full time. In 2011, she officially launched The Sato Project.

We are incredibly proud to be celebrating our 10th anniversary this year. With The Sato Project’s founding, Chrissy’s rescue efforts were able to expand from one dog a month, to one dog a week, to hundreds, and then over a thousand dogs a year. In 10 years, our team has flown over 5,500 dogs to new homes and expanded our programs to tackle Puerto Rico’s stray dog crisis head-on. We have spayed/neutered over 7,000 dogs and cats, distributed over 130,000 lbs of emergency relief supplies, and reunited over 200 dogs with their families who were separated due to a natural disaster. 

None of these achievements would have been possible without the support of our community that has always had our back through hurricanes, earthquakes, the pandemic, and more. Thank you for helping us get here. Please stay tuned. We look forward to sharing some of our favorite stories from our history and celebrating this milestone together with you. 

Only 15 hours after our Freedom Flight landed in NY, our team in Puerto Rico was back at work saving more lives. With so many of our satos now safely off the island, our kennels had been cleared. There was no time to waste. On Monday morning, we were in our cars headed to the municipal shelter in Ponce. The Ponce shelter is one of only five municipal shelters in Puerto Rico and has an extremely high euthanasia rate of around 97%.

Our team headed into the shelter with a plan of saving 20 dogs from the euthanasia list. However, as we walked through the rows and rows of kennels, cages, and beautiful faces, we knew that 20 was not enough. We walked out with 80 dogs instead - 80 satos of all shapes, sizes, ages, and conditions - each one just as deserving of a second chance at life. All of these survivors are now safe and receiving the care they need. We are still getting to know our newest rescues and look forward to introducing you to them as they complete our protocols and become available for adoption. 

At any given time, if you are looking to add a new member to your family, you can see which dogs are available for adoption here on our website. Be sure to check back often as we will continue adding more dogs.

Left: Zena was discovered cruelly tied up in a trash bag and discarded on the side of the road. Right: Zena at home with her new brother and sister. They are both excited to spoil her for the rest of her life.

One day, our volunteer José was driving in Puerto Rico when a tied-up trash bag on the side of the road caught his attention. It appeared to be moving, so he pulled over to investigate. Much to his surprise when he opened the bag, he discovered a tiny puppy inside. This horrible act of cruelty fortunately has a happy ending. He named the puppy Zena and she became a part of The Sato Project’s program. 

Meanwhile in New York, Allison and her family were looking for a dog to adopt. She and her husband really wanted their two kids to have the experience of growing up with a dog. They looked at several websites before eventually stumbling on a photo of Zena on Petfinder. It was love at first sight.

On February 13th, the entire family was there at the airport to welcome her home. Zena marched out to the parking lot to meet them with her tail wagging. She got to work at once, covering her new siblings with happy puppy kisses. Now she spends every day playing with her brother and sister in the snow, hanging out on the couch watching family movies, and waking up her siblings every morning with even more puppy kisses. Congratulations, sweet Zena. Your cruel beginning in a trash bag is long behind you. From now on, you will forever be cherished like the treasure that you are.