Celebrating 10 Years of The Sato Project

The more she learned, the more Chrissy
was determined to find a way to make a
difference for the thousands of dogs who
needed help.
She reached out to existing rescue organizations to see how
she could get involved. It was through that initial research
that she discovered ‘Dead Dog Beach’. This regrettably
named beach is at the end of a long and isolated road,
surrounded by thick jungle on all sides. It is in Yabucoa,
Puerto Rico, one of the island’s poorest municipalities.
Officially named ‘Playa Lucia’, it gained its more well known
nickname by becoming a notorious dumping ground for
abused and unwanted dogs. Chrissy went there in 2008
for the first time and witnessed the hundreds of abandoned
dogs that called Dead Dog Beach ‘home.’ Later that same
year, she adopted her first sato, Boom Boom, who was
rescued from horrific conditions at the municipal shelter in
Arecibo. After her adoption, the need to help more satos
became more personal. From thereon, Chrissy never
looked back. In 2009, Chrissy quit her job, closed her
successful consulting business and dedicated herself to
Boom Boom at the Arecibo shelter
rescuing satos full time. She went back to Dead Dog Beach
and became determined to save every single one of the
dogs there, no matter what it took. She also declared that
someday, she was not going to have to stand in front of a
large pack of dogs and only be able to rescue one. She
would be able to rescue them all. But in order to do that,
she would need help. She would need to build something
bigger than herself. In 2011, with Boom Boom’s silhouette
resplendent in our logo, The Sato Project was born and
Dead Dog Beach became our ‘home’ too.
MORE THAN 10 YEARS OF HARD WORK, ADVOCACY, AND RESCUING
Through more than 10 years of hard work,
advocacy, and rescuing, Dead Dog Beach
has been entirely cleared of stray dogs, aside
from two feral strays that The Sato Project
team monitors and feeds daily. In 2014, after
eight years of campaigning with the local
government, a gate was finally installed at one
of the two entrances to the beach. This gate
restricts access between the hours of 6pm and
6am. As a result, the number of dogs being
dumped and, in turn, abused, has dropped
considerably. In 2016, the government allowed
us to hang a sign, designating The Sato Project
as the official rescue organization of Dead
Dog Beach. This sign also clearly reminded all
visitors that abandoning or abusing an animal is
against the law. Sadly, this sign was lost during
Hurricane Maria; however, we are working on
getting another one installed.
Occasionally, new dogs are still dumped on
Dead Dog Beach. Our team continues to
monitor the beach daily and any new sato that
appears is promptly rescued. With Dead Dog
Beach now under control, The Sato Project
has been able to expand its operations into
the wider community of Yabucoa and establish
programs that not only help rescue more dogs,
but fight the systemic causes of Puerto Rico’s
stray animal crisis.
Photo by Sophie Gamand
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