Mac’s Save A Sato Fundraising Event

88 donors

$12,551 raised of $12K

‌

Donate

Mac’s Save A Sato Fundraising Event

$12,551 raised of $12K

88 donations

Mackenzie Clark is organizing this fundraiser to benefit Save a Sato Foundation.

Tax deductible

I started volunteering with Save A Sato earlier this year while searching for a way to connect with my community. I have always loved dogs, experience the benefits of pet adoption firsthand every day with my girl Hudson, and knew Puerto Rico had so many stray dogs that needed to find homes. In virtually no time flat, Save A Sato became irreplaceable to me.

Save a Sato is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to saving and rehabilitating Puerto Rico’s homeless and abused animals. Animals are rescued or surrendered from all across Puerto Rico and are rehabilitated and put up for adoption into loving homes across North America. Beginning as a backyard operation more than 20 years ago, Save A Sato is now one of the largest animal shelters in Puerto Rico and is widely considered one of the poorest, most underfunded and under resourced, too. There are currently ~140 dogs in the care of Save a Sato with new dogs being dropped off every week. We need your help.

Every Sunday, I get up at 6:30, drive 35 minutes to the shelter and walk dogs. For every one of the dogs we walk, it is the only time they have outside of their kennel unless they are receiving medical attention. The change in their disposition after being outside, running around on a leash and receiving love from their walkers is absolutely incredible…hard to believe even.

That said, the conditions of the shelter are extremely dire, which is the reason for this fundraiser. Running an institution-scale animal shelter is complex, but events like Hurricane Maria and COVID-19 have made day-to-day operations increasingly difficult. With the utmost respect for how much Save A Sato has done, it is important to be entirely frank about the conditions at the shelter.

Food. Within the last few weeks, the shelter has run out of food several times. The shelter is highly dependent on food donations from volunteers, local pet stores and grocers, but often these are insufficient.
Electricity. The shelter does not have electricity.
Cleanliness. The shelter cannot afford to have someone come every day to clean the kennels, which in some cases host up to 4 dogs. Going multiple days without a cleaning creates terribly unhygienic conditions and makes adoption difficult given their physical cleanliness.
Exercise. The dogs spend 100% of their time in their kennels unless they are receiving medical attention or being walked through the our Dog Walking program. Exercise is crucial as many of these dogs are too wound up to be adoptable with so little time out of their kennels.

This Go Fund Me fundraiser is part of a more extensive fundraising campaign I am running through April to raise $25,000 for the shelter. To all of my fellow animal lovers, this campaign is a way to give a piece of your heart to the 140+ dogs that desperately need it. The funds raised will be used to 1) set the shelter up with electricity, 2) hire a part time cleaner, 3) pay off some outstanding vet bills, and 4) complete some necessary infrastructure repair and maintenance.

Your donations* are so sincerely appreciated. Thank you so much!!!

*If you require a tax receipt, you can donate through PayPal directly to @saveasato and please note the purpose of the payment as ‘Mac’s Fundraiser’.