Sometimes people’s kindness can blow me away. What a considerate man. Big barks to Ted!

Thanks to the Chicago Sun-Times for this article.

Shelter dogs enjoy take-out
Beef, pizza scraps donated

October 29, 2007
BY JIM HOOK Daily Southtown

People aren’t the only ones enjoying the taste of Barraco’s pizza and other food from the restaurant’s seven suburban locations.

Since March, the nearly 1,000 homeless animals at the Animal Welfare League shelter have been treated to more than 4.6 tons of beef, gravy, pizza scraps and other food that otherwise would have ended up in the garbage, thanks to Ted Lownik, a part-time Barraco’s deliveryman.

Since March 23, Lownik has taken the daily trek — only missing one day — from his home in Alsip to the shelter in Chicago Ridge.

Lownik, a 67-year-old artist, began making the trips after hearing about tainted pet food that killed scores of dogs and cats earlier this year. The Animal Welfare League was forced to destroy most of its pet food.

Lownik remembered how excited his dogs were when he brought home pizza scraps. So he asked the people at Animal Welfare if he could bring some food over.

“They loved it,” Lownik said. “Dough, cheese and meat. They were in heaven.”

He then approached Nick Barraco who, along with his wife, Fran, own the pizzeria.

“I told Nick that I had done something, and I hoped he wouldn’t get mad,” Lownik said. “After I told him what I’d done, he looked at me and said, ‘Keep it up.’”

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