In a heartwarming show of compassion and logistics, RetrievAir, the luxury pet travel airline, has partnered with The Sato Project, a nonprofit devoted to rescuing abused and abandoned dogs in Puerto Rico, to fly dozens of dogs to safety just ahead of hurricane season.
Every year, as the Atlantic hurricane season looms, thousands of stray and abandoned dogs—often referred to as “satos”—face deadly conditions on the island. This year, thanks to this groundbreaking collaboration, hundreds of vulnerable animals are being airlifted to safety in the continental U.S., where loving homes and rescue partners await.
“This mission is incredibly important to me,” says RetrievAir co-founder and aviation advisor, Mark Williams. “My wife and I adopted our dog Diego, a sato from Vieques, Puerto Rico, nearly ten years ago now. The fact that I’m now able to assist in bringing satos in need to loving families is a dream come true.”
Diego was adopted from Vieques, Puerto Rico in 2015.
Taking Pet Travel to New Heights
RetrievAir burst onto the scene in recent years by offering what so many pet owners had long dreamed of: a humane, stress-free way to travel with their pets in-cabin—not as cargo. With pet-first cabin design, climate control, and even calming music, RetrievAir offers routes that prioritize the comfort and safety of cats and dogs during flight. No more stuffing beloved pets under the seat or anxiously hoping they survive a turbulent ride in the belly of the plane.
The airline has quickly become a go-to for animal lovers who demand better for their four-legged companions, particularly among relocators, vacationers, and even high-profile clients fleeing natural disasters or military deployments.
But now, RetrievAir is proving it’s not just a pet airline—it’s a lifeline.
A Race Against the Clock
Puerto Rico’s hurricane season officially begins June 1, and in recent years, the island has seen increasingly severe storms. The Sato Project has worked tirelessly on the ground rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming dogs from some of the most devastated areas. But one of their biggest obstacles? Getting the dogs off the island safely and swiftly.
RetrievAir is stepping in to solve that.
In specially organized flights, the company is transporting crates of vaccinated, medically cleared dogs directly to no-kill shelters and adoptive homes on the U.S. mainland. Onboard, the pups are treated with the same care as any human passenger—soft bedding, temperature control, and an attentive team ensuring a safe flight from start to finish.
“Every life saved is a win,” said Chrissy Beckles, founder of The Sato Project. “And with RetrievAir, we can now move these dogs faster and more humanely than ever before.”
Hope in the Skies
For Puerto Rico’s thousands of stray dogs—many of them victims of abandonment, abuse, or natural disaster—the skies just got a little more hopeful.
RetrievAir’s mission to elevate the standard for pet travel has now taken on a new dimension: disaster relief. And for The Sato Project, this partnership means more than just logistics—it means lives saved.
Dozens of stray dogs will be provided a safe and stress-free flight from San Juan to New Jersey on July 5th while they travel to their forever homes.
As hurricane season intensifies year after year, this collaboration could be the start of a vital new model for animal rescue in a warming, storm-prone world.
And for pet lovers everywhere, it’s a reminder that compassion—and innovation—can change the world, one flight at a time.