As soon as 2021 started, my team and I hit the ground running. We currently have over 130 dogs in our care in Puerto Rico - including 14 who were rescued directly from the streets just last weekend. Thanks to supporters like you, they are now receiving the love and care they desperately needed. We look forward to sharing their stories with you in the future. But first, we are excited to announce some news about Puppy Bowl XV11. Six lucky satos will soon be on national television representing The Sato Project community! Keep reading below to learn more.

Sato Athena competes with another rescue pup in a still photo from the upcoming Puppy Bowl XVII! Photo credit: Discovery+/Animal Planet/Elias Weiss Friedman.

For the past 10 years, Puppy Bowl has been a proud moment for The Sato Project's dogs to be featured on national television. As Puerto Rico continues to battle ongoing earthquakes, tropical storms, and the pandemic, we are now - more than ever - grateful for the opportunity to raise awareness about the plight of our beloved satos.

This year’s Puppy Bowl XVII includes a lineup of 70 puppies from 22 different shelters across the United States. We are incredibly proud to have six of our satos among them. Keep reading to learn more about each of our special competitors. And don’t forget to tune in and cheer them on during the special three-hour event. Puppy Bowl XVII will premiere on February 7th at 2pm ET on Animal Planet and also stream live on Discovery+. Click here for more information or visit PuppyBowl.com. 

Left: Foxy Cleopatra's official Puppy Bowl portrait. Credit: Discovery+/Animal Planet/Elias Weiss Friedman. Top Right: Foxy at the beach, thriving in foster care. Bottom Right: Foxy when she was first rescued.

Foxy was found on a beach as a tiny puppy, in desperate need of help. She was malnourished, dehydrated, had a belly full of parasites and skin covered in mange. All of these things combined could be deadly for a young puppy if not treated. We rushed her to the vet, where she had to be hospitalized for an entire month. Even after that, her condition remained delicate, so our Founder and President Chrissy Beckles, decided to take her home as a foster. As soon as she was home with Chrissy, she thrived. We knew this beautiful little fighter needed a name fit for a princess. Thus, she became Foxy Cleopatra. Foxy now lives with a family in New Jersey who adore her like the princess she was born to be. We are so proud to see this #satostrong girl take to the playing field and shine on the big screen like the star she is.

Left: Coltrane's official Puppy Bowl portrait. Credit: Discovery+/Animal Planet/Elias Weiss Friedman. Top Right: Coltrane when he was first rescued. Bottom Right: Coltrane and his family in the junkyard they used to call home.

We found Coltrane trying to survive in a junkyard with his mum Molly and five siblings. They were sleeping on old newspapers and surrounded by trash. It was no place for a young family to live. One of our volunteers worked hard to gain Molly’s trust so that we could rescue the entire family and take them to safety. In the process of completing their vetting protocols, lucky Coltrane ended up being fostered by our Founder and President Chrissy Beckles too, alongside Foxy. Chrissy poured lots of love into this little sato before he flew to his forever family and we are so excited to see him represent The Sato Project on national TV.

Left: Ginkgo's official Puppy Bowl portrait. Credit: Discovery+/Animal Planet/Elias Weiss Friedman. Top Right: Ginkgo shortly after he was first rescued. Bottom Right: Ginkgo's brother peeks out from underneath the car ramp where he and his siblings were first discovered.

Ginkgo and his siblings were originally found living under a car ramp in an auto repair shop. The mechanics reached out and asked for our help in bringing them to safety. When our team member Daphne arrived to investigate, the mechanics got on their hands and knees and helped her rescue each one. From the moment Ginkgo and his siblings were safely at our veterinary clinic, we had a feeling that this spunky sato was destined for stardom. That turned out to be true! Not only was he selected to compete in the Puppy Bowl this year, he was adopted by the Henry Friedman's sister. Henry is the father of our sato-celebrity @KeepingFinn. Ginkgo now has his very own Instagram account, just like his famous cousin: @GoodBoyGinkgo. We can’t wait to see this sato superstar give it his all on the Puppy Bowl playing field.

From left to right: Archer, Ariel, and Athena. Photos by Discovery+/Animal Planet/Elias Weiss Friedman.

Siblings Archer, Ariel, and Athena are all very lucky satos who had the good fortune of being born in our care. Their mum, Julieta, was found dumped next to a pile of debris back in July. She was friendly when we approached her, but very hungry and extremely disoriented. We rescued her and her intake vetting revealed that she was pregnant. Shortly after, she gave birth to six beautiful puppies. Sadly, one was stillborn; however the remaining five and Julieta herself went on to thrive under our care. Julieta has passed on her loving disposition to all of her pups. It did not surprise us when several of them were selected for Puppy Bowl. Julieta and all of her puppies are now a long way from the streets of Puerto Rico. In addition to Archer, Ariel, and Athena being on their way to sato-superstardom - they have all been adopted by loving families on the East Coast. Archer and Athena will be playing for Team Ruff. Ariel, however, will be competing against her siblings in Team Fluff. May the best team win! 

Don't forget to tune in to the big game on Sunday, February 7th at 2pm. Click here for viewing information on Animal Planet.

Julieta was found abandoned in the streets of Puerto Rico, pregnant, hungry, and disoriented. Fortunately, we rescued her just in time for her to give birth in safety. Now Julieta is living the life of her dreams with a loving family and three of her puppies will get to represent The Sato Project on national television during Puppy Bowl XVII!

Over July 4th weekend of 2020, we completed our biggest ‘Freedom Flight’ ever, flying 280 rescued dogs and cats to the mainland. To help celebrate this historic flight, we invited our social media audience to submit drawings of our dogs taking to the sky. In response, we received a multitude of beautiful works of art, created by children, professional artists, and everyone in between. All of these submitted pieces became part of our #SatosintheSky celebration and are now featured in a special 2021 calendar. Click here to get one of your own and help us celebrate satos all year long. All proceeds from the sale of this calendar support our continued rescue efforts in Puerto Rico. Thank you for helping us transform the lives of so many abandoned dogs.