A group of stray dogs and cats celebrated the new year in new homes thanks to the efforts of dedicated rescuers.
On the morning of Dec. 31, The Sato Project chartered a plane to fly 75 animals collected from the streets of Puerto Rico to new adoptive homes in the northeastern U.S. The organization scheduled the rescue flight ahead of time, so the group pressed on when Puerto Rico experienced a power outage that affected most of the island on the morning of New Year’s Eve. Rescuers ensured that all of the pets safely traveled from San Juan to Morristown Airport in New Jersey.
“Puerto Rico is, unfortunately, no stranger to blackouts, with large sections of the island experiencing power outages on a regular basis due to the island’s crumbling electrical grid,” said Chrissy Beckles, the founder and president of The Sato Project, in a release provided by the nonprofit.
“However, when it comes to the fight against the overpopulation crisis, my team and I know how to take a punch and still come back out swinging. Seventy-five satos and gatos made it to the mainland successfully despite the blackouts because of our staff and our incredible community of supporters, volunteers, adopters, and fosters,” Beckles added, calling the dogs “satos” a team used in Puerto Rico for street dogs.
After the long New Year’s Eve journey, which included a refueling stop in Florida, all 75 pets deplaned in New Jersey without issue and found adopters and fosters eagerly awaiting their arrival. Volunteer photographers were present to capture beautiful shots and video footage of the new happy families meeting for the first time.
According to a release from The Sato Group, a nonprofit dedicated to helping Puerto Rico’s homeless pets, the island is home to an estimated 650,000 stray dogs. Thirteen years ago, The Sato Project started rescuing abused and abandoned dogs and has found families for over 7,500 homeless pets since.
The New Year’s Eve rescue flight was The Sato Project’s response to a successful Giving Tuesday campaign — donations from the campaign funded renovations on property that The Sato Project recently purchased to use as a “Sanctuary” space for its rescue animals. Actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan supported the effort.
Thanks to generous donors, the rescue group reached its goal of $300,000. In response, The Sato Project returned the generosity shown to its community by opening the rescue flight up to other rescuers and shelters in Puerto Rico that needed dogs and cats transported — completely free of charge.
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“We typically charter these planes ourselves, and if we have space on the plane for more than just the dogs in our program, we try to give back to the rescue community by offering those spots to independent rescuers and our shelter partners,” Beckles explained in her statement “As long as the animals have followed our vetting protocol, they are welcome to ride with us to the mainland, and we won’t charge them a dime.”
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