Steve McGarva is a compassionate and devoted Sato rescuer who spent two years caretaking the abandoned animals on Dead Dog Beach in Yabucoa, Puerto Rico. You can read about Steve's work in the April 28 issue of "People" magazine. He was also on the Ellen Degeneres show on May 22.

While Steve fed and cared for the many abandoned dogs on the beach, two amazing rescue groups--Manos por Patas and Amigos de los Animales--managed the rescue and rehoming effort, getting more than 500 dogs out of danger and into loving homes. One veteran rescuer, the heroic Sandra Cintron, still goes to the beach almost every day. You can read about what she sees there on her blog. Please support as many of these people and groups as you can.

There were many happy endings thanks to these combined efforts. Here is Steve with Foxy, a little dog that had been abandoned to her fate on the beach. Things have changed for Foxy.....as you can see in the photo at right. She was adopted by a wonderful woman in Boston and is a much beloved family member and great ambassador for the cause.

We think of Satos as being one of Puerto Rico's most precious natural resources--but when people ask us to describe a typical Sato, we can get a little stumped. The truth is that Satos are like snowflakes--every one is unique and special in its own way. Some Satos exhibit the distinctive features of certain breeds, but often in very unusual combinations.....think of a Border Collie the size of a Chihuahua...or a lab in the shape of a Corgi!

As different as each one is, many Satos have a very prominent feature in common and that's their EARS....(maybe these big earspans help them pick up frequencies from back on the island)...

We wanted to salute some of our most famously endowed Save a Sato alumni. There's Lainey above....and Harley on the right.....and little Ziggy below...

If you have a Sato with amazing ears, send us a photo to the email address at the bottom of this page and we will post it as part of our spring tribute to this unique feature....







Update: Thanks to Tracey Goodwin for this great shot of her Sato Kenzie (at right)...Kenzie is very special because she doesn't use her ears to hear. They are strictly ornamental as Kenzie is deaf. Tracey has worked with Kenzie on mastering hand signals. You can read an article that Tracey wrote about working with a deaf dog in the winter 2005/2006 edition of our Sato Tales newsletter.




And here's Ricky on the left. His "person" likes his ears because they are not only huge, but also fuzzy....on the inside! Ricky is rumored to help improve the cable television reception whenever he is in the room.



Elsie (on the right) uses her GI-NORMOUS Sato ears as a way to express herself. Sometimes she feels like standing them straight up, other times, she's in the mood to pin them back flat against her head. Maybe the situation calls for one to be up and the other to flop jauntily....





Meet Rocco....he was sponsored and adopted from Los Machos beach, which is a terrible dumping ground for dogs (please click here for more info). Even so, he had no trouble fitting into his new family, which includes a Rottweiller and three cats. His new "mom" says that it was his ears that made her fall in love at first sight. She thought they made him look a famous celebrity--Mickey Mouse!








Sato Sofia (on the left) was adopted directly from the streets of Puerto Rico. Her mother believes that the size and shape of Sofia's ears may indicate that she is part fruit bat! That's her canine brother Dewey with her. He has big ears too....





Mr. Sato was adopted through Stars of Amelia in Fernandina Beach, Florida and now lives in Seattle. He naps on a velvet couch, enjoys two square meals a day, and shows this pesky rainbow trout just who's boss. He often strikes a "Yoda" pose with his impressive ears. His mom thinks this means "I'm not impressed."

Bentley (at right) was adopted from Buddy Dog in Sudbury, Mass. by Dianna and Susan Landers, who only recently learned that Satos are famous for their distinctive ears.....They thought it was just Bentley! The Landers report that people everywhere comment on this feature of Bentley's. (So true...) They say he is a real "head turner!"

Another Buddy Dog alumni with a wide earspan is Bailador....This Sato notifies his "people" when he's sleepy by cocking his ears in different directions. If you think that's easy--try it! "Bailar" means "to dance" in Spanish, and this little doggie got his name because of his fondness for dancing around on his hind legs.


Luca is shown here
demonstrating her ear versatility....first, we have the "up" pose (noted at right), which often conveys interest or curiosity. Here she is challenging us to pay attention! But, Luca (on left below) has something quite different to say....this is more of an "I'm off duty" statement...










Charlie (at right) is learning to use his aural endowments to help compensate for his mom's hearing loss. For instance, she is training him to find things that are making noise (like an alarm clock) and show them to her. Charlie's "parents" found him near death on a surfer beach and nursed him back to health. He has gained lots of weight since this early photo of him was taken. His mom reports that he is smart, athletic, eager, capable, and an all-around joy.



Canela, at left, lives in New Jersey and has a hidden talent. She can move her ears in two different directions to listen to two different conversations at the same time! She folds them back on her head when she's walking, so she's totally aerodynamic.



Daisy, at right, was adopted from the Animal Shelter in Sterling, Mass. She was so shy at first that she kept her ears plastered to her little head. But then, all of a sudden, she became super comfortable in her wonderful new home--and up they popped! Much to her new mom's surprise. They have been "up" ever since--giving her that sensational Sato look.