EATONTOWN – The Monmouth County SPCA had a late night last – or perhaps an early morning – as over 50 staff and volunteers were up until 2 a.m. offloading more than 70 dogs from trucks, dogs that would otherwise have faced euthanasia.
The rescued dogs are part of The Sato Project, a 501c3 rescue organization that focuses its efforts on saving the thousands of stray dogs in Puerto Rico, where 90 percent of the animals that enter the shelter system do not survive. Sato teamed up with both The Humane Society of the United States and Wings of Hope to fly a total of 200 dogs to the U.S. on two planes. The dogs will be taken to shelters across the east coast and placed up for adoption.
“We’re happy to be a landing point for the rescued dogs from Puerto Rico and the Sato Project,” said Ross Licitra, Chief of Police and Executive Director at the Monmouth County SPCA. “We’ve always had great success in adopting out Sato dogs and have received nothing but support from our surrounding communities when participating in these types of efforts. We believe all animals deserve a second chance and we’re proud to support animal rescue in all capacities.”
Volunteers from Animal Rescue Fund of East Hampton, Animal Haven of New York City and The Sato Project were on hand Wednesday to help with the late night/early morning dog delivery, and the Monmouth County Freeholders and Highway Department donated floodlights ahead of the drop-off so everyone could see after dark. Wegmans of Ocean also donated $150 in dog food for the new arrivals.
Some of the 70 dogs that arrived this morning at the MCSPCA’s Eatontown facility will stay there, but others will be sent to three other local rescue organizations. The dogs will need to undergo medical and behavioral assessments before they are placed up for adoption, which should be in about a few weeks.
For more information on how to adopt one of the dogs, email adoptions@monmouthcountyspca.org or call 732-542-5962.
