I saw this in today's Chicago Tribune and I think it's great!
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Olivia Barrera, 72, has a Yorkie named Ozzie who's 5 years old, weighs 5 pounds and lives with her in a tiny Humboldt Park apartment.
Ozzie defies the caricature of the yappy lap dog by barking only sparingly: With one mighty bark, he conveys his hunger when there's no water or food in his bowl.
One bark, sometimes two, expresses his disdain for Lola, a 4-year-old female Yorkie who's nearly twice his size and belongs to Barrera's granddaughter. Lola has been visiting since mid-November and often wears out her welcome with Ozzie by barking too much and commandeering his toys.
For about four years, Barrera has been going to the nearby European American Association's food pantry for meat, canned goods and fresh vegetables. The items not only provide meals for her, but also help her feed Ozzie and now Lola.
"Food is very expensive for dogs," Barrera said. "I give them dog food and table food because I'm on a fixed income and can't always afford dog food alone."
This week, the Chicago Anti-Hunger Federation, for the first time since its founding in 1990, will begin delivering dog and cat food to some of its food pantries, including the one Barrera frequents. It's an unusual undertaking for an organization as large as the federation, which serves on average 150,000 people a month.
A spokesman from the Greater Chicago Food Depository — Cook County's largest nonprofit food distribution organization, serving 142,000 people per week — told me that the move is indeed rare.
"We occasionally get pet food donations through food drives," said spokesman Bob Dolgan. "But we send that food to animal welfare organizations" that have pet food banks.
Dan Gibbons, the federation's executive director, said his organization's main mission is to provide meals for hungry humans, but if clients are using pantry food to feed their pets, then the federation may be missing its mark.
"It means maybe there's not enough food going to feed the family," Gibbons said. "We figured that if we can keep our families fed well by keeping their pets fed well, then we're all better off."
Giving out pet food at food pantries allows one-stop shopping by those in need. And some people who would be too proud to show up at a food pantry for themselves might for pet food and end up picking up some groceries of their own.
For pet owners who are poor, the choice may come down to sharing their food with their pets or giving them up.
"The cost of a pet is just one more thing weighing families down," Gibbons said. "The fact that they may have to give up a family pet can be unbearable. It's the same thing for a senior citizen. The pet is a companion, and some of our seniors are having to choose between feeding themselves and feeding their pets."
The federation will know exactly how much of a demand there is for pet food in a few weeks. For now, the federation will deliver 100 pounds of pet food to 10 of its 60 pantries with the goal of expanding to all of them by May, if necessary. Gibbons is hoping that most of the pet food will come from donations. (For more information, call 773-252-3663, ext. 103.)
He said the staff hopes to ensure that the animals served are companions and not used for breeding or illegal activity.
Barrera, a retired legal assistant who currently volunteers at the European American Association's food pantry, said she's thrilled about the pantry offering pet food because her companions mean the world to her — Ozzie, in particular.
In September 2008, when Barrera was living in a different apartment building, the back porch caught fire.
"Ozzie sleeps with me, and at 2 o'clock in the morning, he got up and started barking," she said. "He woke me up, and I saw him standing in the hall looking at the kitchen, barking at the fire. And he's not a barking dog. The firemen kept saying he saved my life."
Barrera said Ozzie has been with her since he was only a couple of months old. Though money is often tight, getting rid of him is not an option.
"He's my protector, my family, my baby," she said. "It may be a struggle, but you wouldn't get rid of a family member. You struggle to stay together. The (federation's new initiative) will help us do that. "
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