Celebrating 10 Years of The Sato Project

Photo by Sophie Gamand
before her 8th birthday, it was devastating to the Beckles
family and to our team. We searched for a way to further
honor her legacy. Even though Arecibo is far away from
our base in Yabucoa, we decided to return to the shelter
that Boom Boom originally came from in 2009. This
shelter is not a nice place. It is packed with overcrowded
kennels, is severely understaffed, underfunded, and has
a never-ending stream of even more dogs being dropped
off. Our team went into Arecibo with the intention and the
budget to rescue eight dogs, in honor of what would have
been Boom Boom’s eighth birthday. However, it was an
impossible choice, deciding which dogs to rescue. We left
with 11 dogs instead and wanted to make even more of
an impact. With the help of a generous donor, we ran a
campaign to raise funds directly for the Arecibo shelter.
These funds allowed for capital improvements to improve
the dreadful conditions under which their staff was working
and their dogs were living in. In addition to saving as many
lives as possible, we wanted to improve the shelter’s
ability to care for their remaining dogs, even after we left.
We still miss Boom Boom every day, but continue to fulfill
Chrissy’s promise to her through every aspect of our work.
ARECIBO
Our good friend and Sony World Photography Award winner Sophie Gamand went
with us to the Arecibo shelter to capture this mission and honor Boom Boom.
We were gradually working to build up all of our ‘on the ground’
operations in Puerto Rico when, suddenly, the 2017 hurricane season
arrived. With that, came hurricanes Irma and Maria, which would change
all of our lives drastically.
VICTOR AMOR - 2014
To this day, Victor Amor remains one of our biggest triumphs.
Sadly, he was also one of the worst cases of neglect and abuse
we had ever seen. He was found dumped under a tree on Dead
Dog Beach in the pouring rain. We know he didn’t walk there
himself, as he was barely still alive. He had a body temperature
of 97.1 degrees (99 degrees is considered critical), he was
extremely emaciated, anemic, covered in mange, and was
being eaten alive by fleas. We needed a miracle to keep him
alive. He was rushed to the emergency vet, where he needed
24 hour care and an immediate blood transfusion. We refused
to give up on him. After only a few days, he revealed that he
didn’t want to give up either. Within a week, he gained 2 lbs,
was able to stand on his own, and his skin finally became pink,
instead of the pale grey it was when we found him. We were
optimistic but cautious, as we knew this little sato had a long
way to go. He began to eat and drink the way we needed him to,
and gradually his sweet personality began to show. Eventually,
his fur started to grow back in, his tail was wagging constantly,
and he was full of life. After only seven weeks, he took his
Freedom Flight to NYC, where he continued his veterinary
care, and helped Chrissy train for an important boxing match.
Victor Amor was adopted by longtime supporters of The Sato
Project and currently still lives on Long Island.
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