Celebrating 10 Years of The Sato Project

MELO
Melo was rescued from the euthanasia list of an overburdened
municipal shelter that had become even more overwhelmed
after the earthquakes in Puerto Rico.
One year since his arrival, his mom, Carla, told us:
“Our life with Melo could not be happier!!! Things are going
GREAT! We cannot believe it’s been a year. It seems like
yesterday we traveled to NJ to get Melo but seems like he
has been a part of our family forever. We moved in February
to a neighborhood and the neighborhood is filled with dogs so
Melo has met a bunch of new friends. Any person that meets
Melo cannot believe what an amazing dog he is. As you can
see from the pics wherever our son Quentin is- that is where
Melo is. Quentin had struggled during the pandemic- school
stopped in person for him in the middle of kindergarten. When
Melo arrived in July they had an instant bond. I swear Melo
knew that Quentin needed him. As I write this they are laying
on his bed together watching TV. I cannot thank The Sato
Project enough for matching the perfect dog for our family.
My favorite moment has to be every night when Melo crawls
into bed with Quentin, Elijah, or Kyla. He loves to snuggle and
hates to be alone. We love our Melo and are so thankful he
completed our family!”
Photo by @NYCPetPhotographer
got pregnant again and brought our son, Brian David, into the
world, in March 2021. So, it's very much come full circle with
Champ. He healed us during the most painful time of our life and
has now been there through our most joyful moments. He loves
his role as Brian's big brother, and lays down wherever the baby
is. He even insists on sleeping next to the baby's bassinet!
I worked 100% remotely from the time we adopted Champ
in July all the way through my maternity leave in March. It
would've been very lonely and quiet and I'm so grateful that
Champ was there to keep me company. Also, toward the end of
my pregnancy, my doctor put us under strict lock-down since
I was a high risk pregnancy and COVID cases were starting
to spike again. My husband Brian and I weren't able to see
friends or family for months, even during the holidays, and
Champ brought us so much joy during that very isolating
time…We can't thank you all enough for making OUR dreams
come true by bringing this beautiful dog into our lives! We
were grieving two devastating losses in our family, and now
he is helping us heal. We are the lucky ones."
CHAMP
Champ was found in the streets in such dreadful condition
that our team wasn’t sure that he would even make it through
the night. However, with all of our community’s support, this
fighter made a full recovery and triumphantly flew to his new
family on Mission Possible 11 in 2020.
Since taking his Freedom Flight, Champ has been living the
good life in New Jersey with his family and even recently
became a big brother. One year later Champ’s mum, Melissa,
told us: “Champ has truly become a member of our family. We
decided to adopt him after losing our first baby in the second
trimester of our pregnancy in April 2020. Since that time, we
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