Pandemic Closes Restaurants, Owner Flies to Save Dogs
2021-01-12
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1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
2When the coronavirus health crisis closed the businesses of a restaurant owner in Chicago, he decided to get involved in something else -- saving animals!
3Eduard Seitan is co-owner and operator of nine restaurants and food supply businesses in Chicago.
4But he also is a volunteer airplane pilot for Pilots-n-Paws, an animal rescue organization.
5On its website, Pilots-n-Paws says its efforts have led to the rescue of over 150,000 animals.
6Seitan himself has flown over 25 missions and has transported about 60 animals to safety.
7His fiancée Debbie often flies with him on the rescue missions.
8"The stuff that I see that humans do to their dogs drives me absolutely crazy.Like, Debbie showed me a video yesterday of a dog that was so ... so badly injured ... that I could not stop crying."
9All the animals, Seitan explains, are being rescued from kill shelters.
10These shelters destroy pets that do not find new owners after a period of time.
11The animals also are rescued from unhealthy conditions.
12Most of the dogs, he said, have suffered great abuse.
13The Pilots-n-Paws website is a meeting place for animal rescue volunteers, volunteer pilots, and plane owners.
14Seitan heard about the organization in 2018 and quickly joined as a volunteer.
15A few days later, on New Year's Eve, he flew his first mission.
16A dog named Phoebe was heading to a kill shelter.
17Seitan's part of the mission was to fly the dog to Missouri and then another pilot was to fly her to her new home in Idaho.
18The mission was a success. Phoebe was saved.
19The dog's new owner, a blind woman, recently sent Seitan a picture of Phoebe and her together.
20The woman's husband wrote that Phoebe has brought great happiness to his wife's life.
21After that first mission, Seitan was hooked.
22He wanted to save more dogs and other pets.
23"Besides Phoebe, do you have any other missions that stick out in your memory?"
24"Oh, most of them, my God. I can recite almost every single one..."
25He talks lovingly of Bella, a dog that wandered into the U.S. diplomatic offices in Bosnia-Herzegovina and would not leave.
26Diplomats there flew the dog to Chicago and then Seitan flew Bella to her new home in Wisconsin.
27Another of Seitan's missions was to save a dog named Hero.
28Hero was severely abused. He was used as a target while humans shot fireworks at him.
29"Hero was used for target practice for fireworks, so he had... Oh my gosh. Yeah, he was just as target practice and he had burns everywhere - burns on his forehead, hind legs, belly, everywhere."
30Seitan said he has long been a dog lover.
31Flying airplanes came later.
32However, flying was a childhood dream that almost did not happen.
33When he was young, a neighbor in Romania told Seitan that he would never be a pilot.
34So, he forgot his dream of flying.
35He did not realize his dream until 2007.
36That year, a customer threatened to never eat at his restaurant again if Seitan did not come flying with him.
37Not wanting to lose a long-time customer, Seitan agreed.
38Soon after, he bought his own plane for about $34,000 and has not stopped flying.
39Born in Bucharest, Romania, Seitan grew up in the mountains surrounding that city.
40During our interview, he shared a detail from his childhood in Romania.
41"Let me just say to you and to your audience that I grew up in Romania listening to Voice of America on shortwave radio.("Get out!") Oh, absolutely. My dad had a big radio and that was a nightly thing that we did. We sat around the table [at] dinner time and we listened to Voice of America.For us, that was a lifeline.That was the only way to get outside news.So, yeah, I thank Voice of America for that."
42In 1992, Seitan moved to the United States and began working in the restaurant business.
43He was good at it. Seitan and his business partner employed more than 1,000 people in their 11 restaurants and food shops.
44But when the COVID-19 health crisis hit, they had to close two businesses permanently.
45Most of the others remain closed for winter.
46They also had to cut their number of employees to about 100.
47Many Chicago restaurants have not survived, even well-known ones.
48Seitan's restaurant, Blackbird, is one of them.
49"Every day you see news about another victim of the pandemic, another beloved restaurant, closing down. When we closed Blackbird, there was an outcry because Blackbird is ... was the oldest, fine dining, Michelin-starred restaurant in the city."
50When talking about his food service businesses, Seitan is looking toward the future.
51He hopes spring will bring better times for Chicago's restaurant culture.
52He also believes in luck and knocks on wood to get a little of it.
53"And now we have about nine shops or so. Some of them are dormant for this winter. Let me knock on wood, hopefully we'll -- I just knocked on wood -- hopefully, we'll re-open all of them in the spring!"
54But for now, Seitan is putting his time, money, and energy into helping these animals.
55He says it is his way of helping.
56"We all give back in our own ways. Everyone does something. And this is my way."
57It has also helped him get through this period of uncertainty.
58And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
59I'm Anna Matteo.
1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. 2When the coronavirus health crisis closed the businesses of a restaurant owner in Chicago, he decided to get involved in something else -- saving animals! 3Eduard Seitan is co-owner and operator of nine restaurants and food supply businesses in Chicago. But he also is a volunteer airplane pilot for Pilots-n-Paws, an animal rescue organization. On its website, Pilots-n-Paws says its efforts have led to the rescue of over 150,000 animals. 4Seitan himself has flown over 25 missions and has transported about 60 animals to safety. His fiancée Debbie often flies with him on the rescue missions. 5"The stuff that I see that humans do to their dogs drives me absolutely crazy. Like, Debbie showed me a video yesterday of a dog that was so ... so badly injured ... that I could not stop crying." 6All the animals, Seitan explains, are being rescued from kill shelters. These shelters destroy pets that do not find new owners after a period of time. The animals also are rescued from unhealthy conditions. Most of the dogs, he said, have suffered great abuse. 7The Pilots-n-Paws website is a meeting place for animal rescue volunteers, volunteer pilots, and plane owners. Seitan heard about the organization in 2018 and quickly joined as a volunteer. 8A few days later, on New Year's Eve, he flew his first mission. A dog named Phoebe was heading to a kill shelter. Seitan's part of the mission was to fly the dog to Missouri and then another pilot was to fly her to her new home in Idaho. 9The mission was a success. Phoebe was saved. The dog's new owner, a blind woman, recently sent Seitan a picture of Phoebe and her together. The woman's husband wrote that Phoebe has brought great happiness to his wife's life. 10After that first mission, Seitan was hooked. He wanted to save more dogs and other pets. 11"Besides Phoebe, do you have any other missions that stick out in your memory?" 12"Oh, most of them, my God. I can recite almost every single one..." 13He talks lovingly of Bella, a dog that wandered into the U.S. diplomatic offices in Bosnia-Herzegovina and would not leave. Diplomats there flew the dog to Chicago and then Seitan flew Bella to her new home in Wisconsin. 14Another of Seitan's missions was to save a dog named Hero. Hero was severely abused. He was used as a target while humans shot fireworks at him. 15"Hero was used for target practice for fireworks, so he had... Oh my gosh. Yeah, he was just as target practice and he had burns everywhere - burns on his forehead, hind legs, belly, everywhere." 16Seitan said he has long been a dog lover. Flying airplanes came later. However, flying was a childhood dream that almost did not happen. When he was young, a neighbor in Romania told Seitan that he would never be a pilot. So, he forgot his dream of flying. 17He did not realize his dream until 2007. That year, a customer threatened to never eat at his restaurant again if Seitan did not come flying with him. Not wanting to lose a long-time customer, Seitan agreed. Soon after, he bought his own plane for about $34,000 and has not stopped flying. 18Chicago's restaurants hit hard by COVID-19 19Born in Bucharest, Romania, Seitan grew up in the mountains surrounding that city. During our interview, he shared a detail from his childhood in Romania. 20"Let me just say to you and to your audience that I grew up in Romania listening to Voice of America on shortwave radio. ("Get out!") Oh, absolutely. My dad had a big radio and that was a nightly thing that we did. We sat around the table [at] dinner time and we listened to Voice of America. For us, that was a lifeline. That was the only way to get outside news. So, yeah, I thank Voice of America for that." 21In 1992, Seitan moved to the United States and began working in the restaurant business. 22He was good at it. Seitan and his business partner employed more than 1,000 people in their 11 restaurants and food shops. But when the COVID-19 health crisis hit, they had to close two businesses permanently. Most of the others remain closed for winter. They also had to cut their number of employees to about 100. 23Many Chicago restaurants have not survived, even well-known ones. Seitan's restaurant, Blackbird, is one of them. 24"Every day you see news about another victim of the pandemic, another beloved restaurant, closing down. When we closed Blackbird, there was an outcry because Blackbird is ... was the oldest, fine dining, Michelin-starred restaurant in the city." 25When talking about his food service businesses, Seitan is looking toward the future. He hopes spring will bring better times for Chicago's restaurant culture. 26He also believes in luck and knocks on wood to get a little of it. 27"And now we have about nine shops or so. Some of them are dormant for this winter. Let me knock on wood, hopefully we'll -- I just knocked on wood -- hopefully, we'll re-open all of them in the spring!" 28But for now, Seitan is putting his time, money, and energy into helping these animals. He says it is his way of helping. 29"We all give back in our own ways. Everyone does something. And this is my way." 30It has also helped him get through this period of uncertainty. 31And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. 32I'm Anna Matteo. 33Anna Matteo wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter Jr. was the editor. 34_______________________________________________________________ 35Words in This Story 36mission - n. a specific task with which a person or a group is charged 37fiancée - n. a woman engaged to be married 38pet - n. a tame animal kept as a companion rather than for work 39crazy - adj. unable to think in a clear or sensible way 40hooked - v. fascinated by or devoted to something 41sticks out - v. to be prominent or conspicuous : to be obvious and clear 42recite - v. to repeat from memory or read aloud publicly 43customer - n. one that purchases a commodity or service 44knocks on wood - interjection said to ward off bad luck 45dormant - v. not doing anything at this time : not active but able to become active