It began with a heartbreaking walk on a beach in Puerto Rico. There, Chrissy Beckles saw abandoned dogs, starving. She spent a week feeding them, taking them to the vet and experiencing an epiphany she calls her "Oprah moment." Beckles decided to devote her life to these stray dogs, known as satos, on the island. That led to her founding The Sato Project, a nonprofit that has rescued some 6,000 dogs in Puerto Rico and placed them in homes. Sometimes, those homes are found because The Sato Project brings dogs to no-kill shelters. Sometimes, it's because the pups are seen frolicking on Animal Planet's annual Puppy Bowl.

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