Operation Sato is The Sato Project’s rebranded and expanded spay/neuter, vaccination, and TNR initiative, which held its inaugural event in November of 2023. The name SATO not only reflects the dogs we are helping—it also defines exactly what the program delivers: Sterilization, Advocacy, Treatment, and Outreach. The main goal is simple: disrupt the overpopulation crisis in Puerto Rico with a systemic intervention targeting overbreeding and the transmission of disease among both owned and stray dogs. Operation Sato offers regular high‑volume mobile clinics throughout the Southeast region of the island, as well as 100 vouchers per month for in‑clinic sterilization and vaccination appointments. Each dog treated in our program receives $650 worth of crucial veterinary services, completely free of charge to owners and stray caretakers.
We are always fundraising for our Operation Sato initiative. During the first two years of expanding this program, over 5,000 dogs were served. Your donation will go directly to funding these efforts and reducing suffering for generations of satos to come.
The History of Operation Sato
Before becoming Operation Sato, The Sato Project’s Spay, Neuter, Vaccine and Microchip initiatives were solely in the form of free vouchers. In March of 2016, we were very excited to launch our Spay, Neuter, Vaccine and Microchip Program to expand our work within the Yabucoa community which would run through our partner clinic in Humacao. Unfortunately, in the wake of the Hurricane Maria’s devastation in 2017, the untold numbers of animals which were displaced or abandoned in the storm's aftermath, and the fact that no veterinary clinics were operational for several months at least, means that in the spring of 2018 we started to witness an overwhelming number of litters being abandoned - in boxes, in bags, left at the beach or by the side of the road, to die. While we have been rescuing as many as we can, we knew this moment called for a program on a much grander scale than our monthly voucher program. The Sato Project was a founding member of The Spayathon for Puerto Rico coalition which launched in June of 2018 and was the answer to that prayer but unfortunately ended in 2020. From 2018-2020, Spayathon allowed us to dramatically expand our spay/neuter efforts.
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It’s difficult to say it, but dwindling adoptions and lack of access to affordable spay/neuter/vaccine services have resulted in an explosion of the number of stray dogs, which we now estimate has climbed to over 650,000 roaming the streets and beaches of an island roughly the size of the state of Connecticut. Make no mistake, the crisis of sato overpopulation facing Puerto Rico is a man-made emergency and we cannot rescue our way out of it. In Puerto Rico, the cost of vital medical procedures like spaying, neutering, and vaccinating can be a significant burden for pet owners. Coupled with the economic challenges in recent years, the pandemic, and several natural disasters, the population explosion has reached an unprecedented inflection point.
In typical fashion, The Sato Project has identified the evolution of this crisis, and has come out swinging with a pivoted, one-two punch approach: recognizing that mass spay/neuter/vaccine events and TNR services run alongside adoptions is the most impactful way to diminish the number of satos who must suffer. It attacks the crux of the problem—the birth of unwanted litters and the spread of disease. While we will never waver in our mission to connect satos with loving families, we must go forward with our expanded definition of responsible rescue and prioritize both. In 2023, The BISSELL Pet Foundation and Cathy Bissell donated crucial medical supplies and surgical equipment to help us launch #OperationSato, where we successfully examined, spayed, neutered, vaccinated, microchipped over 1,250 dogs; that equipment has remained on-island and has already been put to use in other #OperationSato events. This was only possible via the relentless efforts of our team, volunteers, sponsors, and the greater #SatoStrong community.
Building off the success of our collaboration with BISSELL, in 2024 we partnered with Dra. Adriana Luna, a local veterinarian in Puerto Rico who runs the LunaVetHelp clinic to offer appointments alongside our pop up clinics.