The Sato Project 2019 Program Report

Rescue & Rehabilitation:
Expanding from Dead Dog Beach
The Sato Project continues to fight back.
The Sato Project’s rescue and rehabilitation efforts
have historically focused on an area in Yabucoa
unfortunately known as Dead Dog Beach. When
Chrissy Beckles founded The Sato Project in 2011, this
infamous dumping ground for unwanted and abused
dogs was home to hundreds of abandoned dogs. Thanks
to over eight years of our rescue and community
outreach work, this beach has been almost entirely
cleared of dogs. Only a handful of feral strays remain,
whom we feed daily. We patrol the beach regularly, and
immediately rescue any of the newly abandoned dogs
we encounter there.
In the first year after the storm, our
team rehabilitated and transported
over 1,500 dogs, reunited nearly
200 dogs with their families who
had to flee after the storm, and
distributed over 69,000 lbs of
humanitarian relief supplies to
people and other organizations all
across Puerto Rico.
Photo by NYC Pet Photographer/Stacey Axelrod
It is for this reason that we were able to exponentially
expand the reach of our efforts to other areas of the
island immediately after Hurricane Maria. In the
first year after the storm, our team rehabilitated and
transported over 1,500 dogs, reunited nearly 200 dogs
with their families who had to flee after the storm,
and distributed over 69,000 lbs of humanitarian relief
supplies to people and other organizations all across
Puerto Rico. We are so grateful for the support from
our community that allowed us to step up and aid in
the disaster relief efforts across the island. However, as
a small (though mighty) team, we also know that we
cannot change the whole island all at once. This is why,
in the second year after the storm, we have returned
our focus to our original home community of Yabucoa.
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THE SATO PROJECT PROGRAM UPDATE | SEPTEMBER 2019