Sato Project

Last updated

Sato Project
Founded2011;12 years ago (2011)
FounderChristina Beckles
Type 501(c)(3)
Focus Animal rights and animal welfare
Location
Website Official website

The Sato Project is an animal rescue and protection organization founded in 2011 by British-born Christina Beckles. It works to rescue abused and abandoned dogs in Puerto Rico, educating the public and advocating for abused and abandoned dogs. "Sato" is the Spanish word used in Puerto Rico and Cuba for referring to stray dogs or cats. [1] Many of the project's missions have involved airlifting dogs before and after natural disasters, including Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the earthquakes that struck Puerto Rico in 2019 and 2020. [2] [3] "Spayathon" is a spaying and neutering program, attended by Sato Project and other animal rights organizations in Puerto Rico, which has had an impact on the stray dog population.

Contents

Background

A 'sato' dog living in France Rescued sato dog.jpg
A 'sato' dog living in France

A sato is a mongrel (i.e. mixed breed) dog, often without a home, in Puerto Rico. [4] Sato is also how many organizations in Puerto Rico and in the continental U.S. refer to the Puerto Rican dogs when aiming to find them owners. [5] [6] [7] The Sato Project founded by Christina Beckles is named after them. While strays come in a variety of shapes and sizes, sato dogs are often small to medium-sized, with large ears and stubby legs. Animal rights groups in and outside of Puerto Rico say they are frequently the target of abuse and neglect. [8] [9] In 2012, there were an estimated 100,000 satos in Puerto Rico. [10] While there are initiatives for adopting satos from shelters and as many as 1400 dogs were adopted in 2018, [11] there were still an estimated 300,000 homeless satos in the same year in PR. [12] By 2021, The New Yorker magazine was claiming the population as 500,000 again. [13]

Operations

Sato adopted by someone in Massachusetts, US Sato adopted in the US.jpg
Sato adopted by someone in Massachusetts, US

The Sato Project is composed of two teams: one operating in Puerto Rico and another operating in the mainland United States. These teams work together to ship the dogs from Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland. [2] [8] [14]

The process of helping these animals begins with them being logged and identified on the beach. Once logged, the Beach Coordinator will check on these dogs daily and give them food and medicine until space opens up in the Sato Project shelter. Once a dog is taken to the shelter, it receives a full check-up. A veterinarian determines what, if any, medications or care is required for that animal to return to full health. In addition to a check-up, the dogs are spayed/neutered and vaccinated. When the dog is finally well enough to travel, volunteers in Puerto Rico help prepare it to fly to either JFK in New York or Newark Airport in New Jersey. Upon arriving, the dogs are received by another team of volunteers who transport them to the project's adoption team. The latter works to find every dog a home and will even take a dog back if an adoption fails, [15] but less than 0.1% of adopted satos are returned. [16] The scale is 300-350 dogs per year but can increase significantly when there is a natural disaster in Puerto Rico. [17]

History

A stray cat with El Morro in the background - In 2018, the University of Puerto Rico estimated there were a million stray cats in PR. Stray cat at Castillo San Felipe del Morro, Puerto Rico.jpg
A stray cat with El Morro in the background - In 2018, the University of Puerto Rico estimated there were a million stray cats in PR.

British-born Christina Beckles, [18] who is a former Golden Gloves boxer, founded the project in 2011 in Puerto Rico but moved Sato Project's headquarters to Brooklyn, New York. In 2012, Beckles said she was allergic to dogs and required weekly injections but felt that saving Puerto Rico's satos was her passion. [4] Working with volunteers, Beckles began the main task with a small operation called "Operation Paws", to fly a number of dogs that had already been cared for, from Puerto Rico to the U.S. where they could be put up for adoption. [4]

In 2015, Beckles continued the work to rescue dogs from "Dead Dog Beach", a beach in Yabucoa which had become a dumping ground for unwanted pets and stray dogs for years. [19] [20] By late 2017, with the help of the American Humane Society, and Wings of Rescue, the Sato Project had flown 2,000 dogs from the beach in Yabucoa to locations in the U.S. [21] [22]

Before and after Hurricane Maria struck the island of Puerto Rico in September 2017, Beckles evacuated many dogs saving them from certain death. [23] Beckles worked to reunite pets with their owners, residents who had left Puerto Rico after the hurricane. [24] [25] Volunteer pilots and "Wings of Rescue" helped the organization with the efforts to evacuate the animals. [26] [16]

In the spring of 2018, around the same time that the University of Puerto Rico had taken its first estimated census of stray animals in Puerto Rico (finding there were 300,000 satos and a million stray cats), [12] Sato Project was part of a coalition that launched Puerto Rico's first "spayathon", [27] a free-of-charge, spaying and neutering event to help curb the island's sato (dog and cat) overpopulation. The spayathon also microchipped the animals. [28]

Sato Project pushed to have a gate put up to curtail the dumping of dogs on "Dead Dog Beach". More than 100,000 dogs have been spayed or neutered in subsequent "spayathons". [28] [29]

In 2020, the organization continued helping by evacuating dogs that had been satos affected by the 2019–2020 Puerto Rico earthquakes. The rescue animals were flown and taken to shelters in Philadelphia, New Jersey and Florida. [14]

The project's founder would like to see the sato become Puerto Rico's national dog and advocates for their adoption by people living in the United States and some American celebrities have adopted a sato. [28]

Puppies rescued by the Sato Project have been featured in Puppy Bowl, a puppy "parody of the U.S. Super Bowl". [17]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pet adoption</span> Adoption of pets that have been abandoned by previous owners

Pet adoption is the process of transferring responsibility for a pet that was previously owned by another party. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters, rescue groups, or other pet owners. Some organizations give adopters ownership of the pet, while others use a guardianship model wherein the organization retains some control over the animal's future use or care.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal shelter</span> Place where stray animals are housed

An animal shelter or pound is a place where stray, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals – mostly dogs and cats – are housed. The word "pound" has its origins in the animal pounds of agricultural communities, where stray livestock would be penned or impounded until they were claimed by their owners.

The Anti-Cruelty Society is an animal welfare organization and animal shelter in the River North neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The Anti-Cruelty Society is a private, not-for-profit humane society that does not receive government assistance. It is one of the largest such organizations in the United States. The organization offers adoption, veterinarian, and training services.

An animal rescue group or animal rescue organization is a group dedicated to pet adoption. These groups take unwanted, abandoned, abused, or stray pets and attempt to find suitable homes for them. Many rescue groups are created by and run by volunteers, who take animals into their homes and care for them — including training, playing, handling medical issues, and solving behaviour problems — until a suitable permanent home can be found.

In some countries there is an overpopulation of pets such as cats, dogs, and exotic animals. In the United States, six to eight million animals are brought to shelters each year, of which an estimated three to four million are subsequently euthanized, including 2.7 million considered healthy and adoptable. Euthanasia numbers have declined since the 1970s, when U.S. shelters euthanized an estimated 12 to 20 million animals. Most humane societies, animal shelters and rescue groups urge animal caregivers to have their animals spayed or neutered to prevent the births of unwanted and accidental litters that could contribute to this dynamic.

Operation Kindness is a no kill animal shelter for cats and dogs located in Carrollton, Texas. It is a non-profit organization and is funded through donations, receiving no government funding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peninsula Humane Society</span>

The Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA (PHS/SPCA) is one of the largest humane organizations in the United States. Located in San Mateo County, California, it is a private non-profit charitable organization. It is an animal rescue, rehabilitation and adoption operation with two locations. The Tom and Annette Lantos Center for Compassion, where adoptable animals are housed, is in the city of Burlingame and the older physical plant, which serves as the intake shelter, is located at Coyote Point in the city of San Mateo. PHS/SPCA has been responsible for considerable progress in the California Legislature with new humane laws in the state, especially since the late 1970s. PHS/SPCA has been characterized as a progressive and innovative humane organization.

A no-kill shelter is an animal shelter that does not kill healthy or treatable animals based on time limits or capacity, reserving euthanasia for terminally ill animals, animals suffering poor quality of life, or those considered dangerous to public safety. A no-kill shelter uses many strategies to promote shelter animals; to expanding its resources using volunteers, housing and medical protocols; and to work actively to lower the number of homeless animals entering the shelter system. Up to ten percent of animals could be killed in a no-kill shelter and still be considered a no-kill shelter.

North Shore Animal League America, headquartered in Port Washington, New York, is the largest no-kill animal rescue and adoption organization in the world. Marianne H. Sanders founded the League in 1944, and the League's mission has been saving the lives of pets through adoption, rescue, spay/neuter and advocacy initiatives. Each year, the League rescues, nurtures and adopts nearly 20,000 pets nationwide, and to date, has placed nearly one million puppies, kittens, cats and dogs into screened homes. One of the first animal rescue agencies on the ground in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the League rescued more than 1,400 pets from the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potcake dog</span> Dog breed

The potcake dog is a mixed-breed dog type found on several Caribbean islands. Its name comes from a traditional local dish of seasoned rice and pigeon peas; overcooked rice that sticks to the bottom of the cooking pot is commonly mixed with other leftovers and fed to the dogs. Although appearance varies, potcakes generally have smooth coats, cocked ears, and long faces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Philippine Animal Welfare Society</span> Organization

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) is a volunteer-based, non-government organization whose goal is to prevent animal cruelty through education, animal sheltering and advocacy, based in Quezon City, Philippines. It was founded in 1954 by Muriel Jay. PAWS believes that the creation of a more peaceful society starts with the widening of mankind's circle of compassion which includes animals, thereby envisions a nation that respects animals, practices responsible pet ownership and protects wildlife. The volunteer-based organization rehabilitates these animals in the hope of finding them new homes and a second chance at a good life. PAWS does not take in pets of other people, but only victims of cruelty or neglect where the animal offenders are charged with violation of the Animal Welfare Act in court.

The National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA) is a non-profit organization in the United States dedicated to promoting animal welfare and animal husbandry practices, strengthening the human-animal bond, and safeguarding the rights of responsible animal owners and professionals through research, public education and public policy. The NAIA mission is "to promote the welfare of animals."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compassion and Responsibility for Animals</span> Organization

Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA) is a registered non-profit, non-government animal welfare organization in the Philippines. It was founded in 2000 by a group of animal lovers determined to help the plight of animals in the Philippines. The current president of CARA is Nancy Cu-Unjieng.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Street dog</span> Unconfined dogs that live in cities

Street dogs, known in scientific literature as free-ranging urban dogs, are unconfined dogs that live in cities. They live virtually everywhere cities exist and the local human population allows, especially in the developing world. Street dogs may be stray dogs, pets which have strayed from or are abandoned by their owners, or may be feral animals that have never been owned. Street dogs may be stray purebreds, true mixed-breed dogs, or unbred landraces such as the Indian pariah dog. Street dog overpopulation can cause problems for the societies in which they live, so campaigns to spay and neuter them are sometimes implemented. They tend to differ from rural free-ranging dogs in their skill sets, socialization, and ecological effects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Animal Rescue Foundation</span>

The Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) is a nonprofit organization founded by Elaine and Tony La Russa, based in Walnut Creek, California. ARF rescues dogs and cats from public shelters where they would otherwise be euthanized and adopts them into new homes. Their programs include a spay and neuter clinic, training classes, psychiatric service dog training for military veterans, a volunteer therapy dog program, and humane education programs for children.

Humane Animal Rescue of Pittsburgh (HARP), formerly known as the Animal Rescue League of Western Pennsylvania, known commonly as Animal Rescue League Shelter & Wildlife Center (ARL), is an animal welfare organization founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1909. The ARL is a non-profit organization that offers various services to support both animals and pet owners alike. It is the only animal shelter in the Pittsburgh area that accepts both domestic animals and wildlife. The agency's shelter and clinic are located in Pittsburgh's East Liberty neighborhood, while its wildlife rehabilitation center and boarding kennels are a few miles away in Verona, Pennsylvania. The organization maintains a contract with the city of Pittsburgh and accepts all stray pets that are apprehended by the Animal Control unit.

Adopt-a-Pet.com is North America's largest non-profit pet-adoption web service that advocates pet adoption, gathering information from over 12,000 pet shelters in the U.S. and Canada, and presenting adoptable pet data in a searchable data base to facilitate pet adoption. Adopt-a-pet.com is registered in Redondo Beach, California, as Humane America Animal Foundation. The web site allows people to sign up to receive an email when a pet that satisfies their criteria appears in a local shelter. Adopt-a-Pet.com also contains information on pet care for first-time pet owners and publishes a newsletter. The web site also lists volunteer opportunities and promotes spaying and neutering of the pets.

The Richmond SPCA is an idependent non-profit animal shelter in Richmond, Virginia founded in 1891.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dead Dog Beach</span> Beach in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico

Dead Dog Beach is a beach within the municipality of Yabucoa in southeastern Puerto Rico. Its nickname derives from it being a dumping ground for stray animals, mainly dogs that the inhabitants of Yabucoa could no longer afford. Most dumped animals were not spayed or neutered.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PAWS Chicago</span> Non-profit animal shelter organization

PAWS Chicago is a non-profit animal shelter organization based in Chicago, Illinois. The organization was co-founded in 1997 by Paula Fasseas and her daughter Alexis Fasseas. The duo aspired to create an organization that focused on discovering solutions to end the euthanasia of homeless pets.

References

  1. ↑ "sato, sata | Diccionario de la lengua española". «Diccionario de la lengua española» - Edición del Tricentenario (in Spanish).
  2. 1 2 SPARACINO, ALYSSA (July 10, 2019). "How to Adopt a Sato Dog From Puerto Rico". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  3. ↑ Figueroa, Norbert (March 22, 2018). "The Great Puerto Rico Doglift". Village Voice.
  4. 1 2 3 Finn, Robin (March 24, 2012). "Operation Paws". The New York Times.
  5. ↑ "Life on Dead Dog Beach". Rider University. September 2, 2016.
  6. ↑ "All Sato Rescue: Sato Tales". allsatorescue.org.
  7. ↑ "Rescue Dogs | Sato Heart Rescue | New Hampshire". Sato Heart Rescue.
  8. 1 2 Navarro, Mireya (January 6, 1998). "Puerto Rico Tackles Issue Of Stray Dogs' Suffering". The New York Times. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Perro llamado "Lázaro" sobrevive a inyección letal". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). October 5, 2014.
  10. ↑ Márquez, Juan Agustín (September 7, 2012). "100,000" . Retrieved November 14, 2016– via DrunkenGunsAndBombs on YouTube.
  11. ↑ "¡Adoptan a más de 1,400 animalitos!". Telemundo Puerto Rico (in Spanish). April 25, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  12. 1 2 "Contabilizan a los animales realengos [Census taken of stray animals]". El Nuevo Dia (in Spanish). April 7, 2018.
  13. ↑ "What Will Become of the Pandemic Pets?". The New Yorker. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  14. 1 2 "Brooklyn-based organization works to help dogs affected by Puerto Rican earthquakes". Bronx News 12.
  15. ↑ "What We Do". The Sato Project. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
  16. 1 2 "No Dogs Left Behind: The SATO Project in Puerto Rico". Pulitzer Center. April 5, 2020.
  17. 1 2 "Meet The Woman Who Rescued 2 Of The Puppy Bowl Pups After Hurricane María". Bustle.
  18. ↑ "Stock Photo - British Born Christina Beckles fights at Gleason's Gym for 'The Sato Project', to save dogs left to die in Puerto Rico. Chrissy left her corporate job to save these dogs left". Alamy.
  19. ↑ Díaz, Jaquira (October 26, 2015). "Rescue from Dead Dog Beach: protectors of Puerto Rico's canines are on a mission". The Guardian.
  20. ↑ Roche, Ann; Contreras, Evelio. "Sato Project saves pups from 'Dead Dog Beach'". CNN.
  21. ↑ "American Humane Joins Wings of Rescue, The Sato Project, and the Humane Society of Broward County to Reunite Displaced Pets from Puerto Rico With Their Families". www.prnewswire.com.
  22. ↑ "Sato Project, Halo to Rescue 250 Dogs from Puerto Rico". Pet Age. May 31, 2018. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  23. ↑ Hanson, Hilary (September 30, 2017). "Group Devoted To Puerto Rico's Stray Dogs Is Flying Dozens To Safety". HuffPost.
  24. ↑ "Reunited and It Feels So Good: The Happiest Pet Reunions Out of Last Year's Hurricanes". PEOPLE Magazine.
  25. ↑ "Rescue Dogs in Puerto Rico Heading to Mainland". NBC 4 New York.
  26. ↑ "Pilots help animals in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria". NBC - The Today Show. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  27. ↑ "First-ever 'Spayathon' Kicks Off in Puerto Rico". Veterinarian's Money Digest.
  28. 1 2 3 "Hope For The Lost And Abandoned Dogs Of Puerto Rico from The Animal House | WAMU 88.5". www.stitcher.com.
  29. ↑ "The Spayathon for Puerto Rico". The Sato Project. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.