The eye of H U R R I C A N E M A R I A made landfall on September 20, 2017 in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, the epicenter of The Sato Project's rescue efforts. Three years later, the crisis is far from over. The power grid remains extremely unstable, outages are still a weekly occurrence and an estimated 20,000 island residents are still living under FEMA-distributed blue tarps instead of roofs. And then 2020 brought even more disasters: earthquakes, additional storms, drought, and a pandemic. As conditions fail to improve, many residents are still deserting the island for the mainland. The numbers of abandoned dogs and unwanted litters of more animals being born and suffering in the streets are still rising.
But thanks to the generous support we have received over the past three years, The Sato Project continues to fight back and has been able to make a tremendous impact.
Since Hurricane Maria, we have:
Launched 77 Freedom Flight transports from Puerto Rico to the mainland U.S., the first just nine days after the storm.
Greatly expanded the scope of our rescue efforts: Prior to the hurricanes, we typically transported between 300-350 dogs every year to the mainland U.S. Since the storm, we have rehabilitated and transported 3,000 dogs and have assisted with vetting, supplies, and transporting for many other rescuers on the island.
Increased our spay/neuter community outreach efforts: Through our community voucher program and our partnership with The Spayathon for Puerto Rico Initiative we have spayed/neutered and vaccinated over 6,700 dogs and cats.
Launched a new initiative called No Dog Left Behind, through which we are helping families who have left for the mainland reconnect with pets they had to leave behind. To date we have reunited over 200 dogs with their families.
Distributed over 130,000 pounds of humanitarian and animal relief supplies to individuals and rescue organizations across the island.
Just nine days after Hurricane Maria’s devastation threw the entire island into chaos and darkness, our small but mighty team managed to organize a Freedom Flight for 60 dogs. It was the most emotional transport we had ever done. As we watched our first group of survivors fly off the island to safety, we knew that the battle was just beginning. But we also knew that our spirit had not been broken. These dogs had survived not one, but two hurricanes, Irma and Maria, in the span of only a few weeks. But now they were headed to lives of love, comfort, and safety.
Click on the images below to read some of their stories and see what their lives are like today.
