ARF Helps Rescue 100 Dogs from Puerto Rico

The Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (ARF) is taking part in “Operation Puppy Love,” a massive dog and cat rescue at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton on Saturday, February 13. ARF will be one of four rescue groups to receive dozens of dogs and a few kittens being brought to the New York area from a dire situation in Puerto Rico. Of the approximately 100 dogs on the plane, ARF will take more than 30 into its care.

ARF is sending Senior Director of Operations, Michele Forrester to El Faro de los Animales, an animal shelter on the eastern coast of Humacao, Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rican shelter recently found themselves far over capacity after a recent court order closing of another area shelter, Santuario Jesus Ayuda De Dios, in Cayey. El Faro received 100 “satos,” the local name for street dogs in Puerto Rico, from the now defunct shelter. Operation Puppy Love will ease El Faro’s burden and help find these wayward dogs forever homes in New York and New Jersey.

This rescue is being spearheaded and underwritten by David Brownstein, a part time resident of Sagaponack and board member of El Faro del los Animales. Along with ARF, Brownstein invited Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation (SASF), Monmouth County SPCA and Humane Society of Atlantic County to help.

SASF is likely to take in about 16 dogs, and representative will be on hand to lend support at the rescue on Saturday.

The dogs will arrive at Gabreski Airport in Westhampton at noon on Saturday. After their morning flight from Puerto Rico, Forrester and ARF’s transport team will drive the 30 dogs back to ARF’s state-of-the-art Adoption Center. The remaining dogs will be brought north on Sunday, February 14 to New Jersey.

Once at the Adoption Center, the dogs will be quarantined until they can be medically cleared by ARF’s veterinarian. Once cleared and socialized, a process that can take a few days, the dogs will be put up for adoption at ARF to find loving new homes.

Once the dogs are ready for adoption, they will be available for visits at Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons (91 Daniels Hole Road) in Wainscott. Call ARF at 631-537-0400 or visit arfhamptons.org for more info.