Over 100 Pets Airlifted from Overcrowded Shelters in Puerto Rico to Find Homes in Mainland U.S.
Over the past two weeks, Puerto Rico has been hit by numerous earthquakes, which have left large parts of the island flooded and without power.
Because of this string of disasters, pets are pouring into Puerto Rico’s animal shelters. Unfortunately, since many of the animal shelters in Puerto Rico have been affected by the recent earthquakes, there is minimal space and resources for this influx of homeless pets, leaving some shelters with no other choice than to euthanize healthy pets as they quickly run out of supplies and space to care for them.
To help the pets of Puerto Rico, and the people who help care for them, Wings of Rescue, GreaterGood.org and The Sato Project recently teamed up to airlift over 110 pets from Puerto Rico out of the island’s overcrowded shelters to rescues in New Jersey, Florida, and Delaware. These mainland shelters have the resources and space to adopt out these pets, leaving Puerto Rico with the ability to help more animals.
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The furry flight occurred on Jan. 19. First, the plane, piloted by Wings of Rescue — a donation-based charity dedicated to flying at-risk pets to safety — arrived in Puerto Rico packed with much-needed disaster relief supplies for the people of Puerto Rico. Once the supplies were emptied out of the plane, adoptable dogs and cats took the goods’ space.
After a safe journey through the friendly skies, the animals arrived in New Jersey, where they were unpacked by volunteers and picked up by the Sato Project and their shelter partners — Brandywine Valley SPCA, St Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center, Broward County Humane — to start their adoption journeys.
All of the animals that made the trip are fully vetted and health certificated, so the shelters expect that the cats and dogs will find homes quickly.
To assist with these life-saving efforts, the animal-loving public is invited to join the Wings of Rescue Flight Support team and The Sato Project at: www.wingsofrescue.org/donate and www.thesatoproject.org/donate.
