Flying to forever… One pup at a time.

Welcome to

Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue

Flying to forever... one pup at time.

We believe that an island dog from Anguilla is the perfect companion. Find your best friend, adopt a Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue dog, and save a life. 

ABOUT US

Flying to forever...

Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue is a dedicated nonprofit organization based in the United States, specializing in rescuing homeless dogs s from the beautiful island of Anguilla in the Eastern Caribbean. Our mission is to give these pups a second chance by flying them to loving forever homes in the U.S.

Our dogs are charming mixed-breed island dogs, often affectionately known as “Coconut Retrievers” or “Potcakes.” These unique pups can be composed of anywhere from 2 to 25 different breeds! Most of our dogs grow to a mid-size range of 30 to 45 pounds, though some may reach larger sizes of 50 pounds or more.

Before embarking on their journey to the U.S., our dogs receive thorough care from Morlens Veterinary Clinic in Anguilla. The dogs are observed, vetted, examined, and vaccinated. Once they are deemed “ready” to fly, these brave pups board planes headed to one of two airports: the Newark Liberty International Airport or Miami International Airport where their foster parent picks them up.

Our dedicated team works tirelessly to arrange what we call “Freedom Flights”, promotes the dogs for adoption, identifies foster and foster families in the U.S., collaborates closely with our veterinary partners in Anguilla to ensure each dog has everything they need for their journey and future adoption. Each adopter goes through a thorough vetting process to ensure a perfect match.

Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue also works with the  Pilots and Paws organization, to transport our dogs to various cities and states throughout the U.S. including New York, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Charlotte, Portland, Sacramento, Hartford, Newark, Washington D.C., Buffalo, Nashville, Providence, Cleveland, Naples, Minneapolis, Denver, Baltimore and more. 

Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue is proud to be a no-kill organization, committed to saving lives and finding forever homes for every pup we rescue.

Join us in making a difference. Together, we can help these island dogs find their way to freedom and love!

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Make a Donation

Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue is 100% donor-funded. Donations pay for the costs associated with our dogs’ care including vaccines, medicines, boarding, flea, tick and heartworm preventatives, as well as travel supplies and commercial and cargo airline tickets to the U.S. Your donation is 100% tax deductible. 

QUESTIONS

FAQ

You will fill out the adoption application and then hit the submit button. Within 2 days you will be contacted by our Adoptions Director who will schedule an interview with you and call your references, including a veterinary doctor reference, to learn more about you. The vetting process takes about 3 days and once complete an adoption contract, including directions to pay the adoption fee, will be emailed to you for signature.

$625 per dog. Adoption fee is includes veterinarian vetting, examining, boarding, vaccines, spay or neutering, various heartworm and giardia tests, two months of preventative flea, tick and heartworm medicines, collar, leash, travel kennel,  travel water bowels, peepads, cargo airline ticket, and on-the-ground handling and transport fees. 

Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue works with Morlens Veterinary Clinic in Anguilla to observe, exam, vaccinate, provide preventive treatments, board, and prepare dogs for travel and adoption in the U.S. All of the organization’s dogs are observed for five days on intake, vetted, examined, given various tests, medicines and preventives by the clinic’s veterinarians. The dogs board at the clinic from the first day they enter the clinic until the day they fly to the U.S. They may be in the clinic for a couple weeks to a couple of months. U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines are followed and our dogs enter United States Customs with appropriate paperwork and legal documentation. Anguilla is a rabies and Lyme disease free country. 

No. Filling out the adoption application is the first step in applying to adopt a dog. An approval decision is based on your home environment, your interview with our adoptions director, and a positive reference check.

One week. Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue has a volunteer Adoptions Director who process applications over three days. Please be patient and know that our Adoptions Director will be in touch with you within 2 days after you submit your adoption application.

Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue is a foster-based organization. Our dogs are in loving foster homes, and we allow for meet-n-greets with the foster parent and dog once you are officially approved to adopt from Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue. 

Once you are approved to adopt, sign your adoption contract and pay the adoption fee, you will pick your adopted dog up from the foster parent’s home. Or if one of our dogs is flying to you via the Pilots and Paws program, you will pick up the dog at your local airport. 

Whether you adopt an older dog or a puppy, we advise you to follow the “3-3-3 Rule” when getting your newly adopted dog acclimated: 3 days of feeling overwhelmed and nervous. 3 weeks of settling in. 3 months of building trust and bonding with you. Please be patient when adopting a new dog and do not judge the dog on the first day of bringing he/she home or when meeting the dog during a meet-n-greet. 

Purina Puppy Pro formula has the proper amount of nutrients the dogs need to develop and grow. 

No. Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue does not have a veterinary doctor on staff in the United States to provide care following adoption. Rather, we require adopters to take their new dog to their veterinary clinic of choice within 5 days of adoption to establish care and continue flea, tick and heartworm preventives. 

Yes. Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue saves and pulls dogs from a kill-shelter in Anguilla (and occasionally St. Martin), where the dogs’ time “expires” due to lack of space and resources. Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue SAVES and RESCUES the dogs who are scheduled to be euthanized with those kill-shelters. Should one of the dogs we pull and adopt from those kill-shelters fall seriously ill or end up with extreme aggressive behavior that can’t be trained or becomes a liability, our team will discuss options for those dogs including possible euthanization, as that may be the best and most humane option for the dog. But to date, no dog has ever been euthanized with Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue.

Want to Become a Foster Parent?

As a foster-based non-profit dog rescue, Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue is always in need of foster parents anywhere in the U.S. Fill out the foster application if you are interested in fostering. We will schedule a phone/video interview to meet you, learn more about you and get you approved. 

TESTIMONIALS

What They Say

WHAT WE DO

How We Prepare Our Dogs for Adoption

Fly To Freedom Dog Rescue works to medically prepare and fly our dogs from Anguilla to the United States for adoption. A lot of work goes into identifying and recruiting foster parents, onboarding committed foster families, promoting the dogs for adoption, and vetting and approving adopters to find the best forever homes. 

A New Home

We take adoption seriously and look for adopting individuals and/or families who are going to make a 110% commitment to adopt one of our dogs and provide the dog everything he/she needs (and more!).

Safe Environment

While a fenced yard is not necessary to adopt one of our dogs, we do look for forever homes where the dog is in the best home environment and with a yard. We will do a video visit/tour of your home and property to learn and see the environment that our dog will be living in. If you have other pets currently living your home we want to understand how you plan to safely introduce a newly adopted dog.

Vaccinating & Testing

Our dogs are vetted, approved, vaccinated (for rabies, distemper, hepatitis, leptosporosis, parvovirus, parainfluenza), and prepared for travel by Morlens Veterinary Clinic in Anguilla. All of the dogs will be tested to rule out diseases. Appropriate medical treatments will be given in Anguilla if the dogs should require. It is possible, but not often, that a dog will need to finish a medicine in the U.S. in the foster home.

Providing Preventatives

When our dogs arrive to Morlens Veterinary Clinic in Anguilla on 'Day 1' for intake and observation, both heartworm and flea and tick prevention are administered to every dog. Preventative treatments are continued to be administered to each dog until the dog flies to the U.S. Preventative treatment is also provided to each foster parent.

Apply to Adopt an Anguilla Dog

FIND YOUR BEST FRIEND

Have a Look at Our Anguilla Cuties!

Dogs Adopted
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Core Member Team
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Volunteers
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Giving 110%

Meet our Team

Leigh Fazzina

President, Founder, Board of Directors

Dave Straub

Business Advisor, Founder, Board of Directors

Rebecca Taillon

Accountant & On-Island Adoptions Coordinator
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