萬千寵愛在一“狗”

某天突然發(fā)現(xiàn)大街上滿是狗狗——博美、貴賓、喜樂蒂、吉娃娃、金毛、拉拉、小哈……全都打扮得整潔體面。從某種程度上說，狗狗已經(jīng)從過往的看門犬或工作助手登堂入室，成為如今家中的寵兒。朋友常說，“偶家的寶寶吃得比偶還好！”咔咔~今天的人們也許越來越體會到那句西方的老話：狗狗是人類最好的朋友。

From the playful to the practical， to the cute， to the honored， dogs are everywhere in America. Today there are about 70 million dogs in the United States alone， one for every four people. But what is our 1)obsession with them， and how much do we really love them? To find out， we travel to see the love firsthand. Doggie 2)pampering is a big business. Billions of dollars each year are spent to keep them happy， healthy and well-3)groomed.

Young: This is Samson and this is Delilah with the 4)ponytails. They are Yorkshire 5)terriers， and they were bred to be tiny. So they are not gonna be much more than"four pounds.

Patricia Young lives in a suburb outside Washington D.C.Young: They have plenty of clothes. They have almost as many clothes as I do (laughs). I can’t go anywhere without somebody stopping us. I guess they’re filling my emptiness， because I have grown children and there is nobody here. So they are good company for me. They have robes when they come out of the shower and the bath. They have a couple of 6)vests， a couple of jackets here. They have hats too; they also have boots. They don’t like wearing the hats or the boots. It’s a little cold for that but I think this is cute. This is his 7)karate outfit， and since it’s so cold， we’ll put these on them (shows another kind of doggie jacket). We’re getting ready to go to Old Town， so we have to get dressed(laughs)， and then we’ll have to get in our little bag so that I can take them to the car to their car seat.

Samson and Delilah aren’t just 8)clothes-horses or dogs; they also enjoy the delights of some 9)R R at the Spa.

Staff: This is the Old Town Pet Resort in Fairfax County， Virginia， the most luxurious， largest pet resort in the， probably in the world. We have a truly dedicated staff that loves animals. We hear many customers and dog owners say， “You know， my dog is so happy here， he doesn’t seem to wanna go home.” Because the dogs can play up to 12 hours a day if they are in day camp， and they get walked three to four times a day. This is our grooming salon and it’s state of the art， and it may be nicer than a lot of your barber shops. Here we have Laird， Ginger Biscuit and Toots who are sharing a 10)Rotunda Five Star Luxury 11)Suite. These guys all have television. And if you really miss your dog， you can watch your dog on the Internet camera provided here.

Young: She just loves it. She wants to get into the water so bad.

Staff: Here we have our 12)hydrotherapy room， originally we designed it with hip [dysplasiatic]注1 and 13)geriatric dogs in mind， but increasingly we have a lot of Labs注2 and Goldens， just real high-energy dogs. They all wear life jackets unless they are really talented and they’ve been coming for a long time. Maybe this seems 14)indulgent and over luxurious for dogs， but you know， that…that is how Americans are living， and the dogs sort of are cheaper than 15)psychotherapy.

"And as people in our lives come and go， it’s comforting to know we’ll always have someone to play with and call family.

從調皮玩伴到務實助手，從可愛寶貝到顯赫尊貴，狗狗的足跡遍布美國。今天，僅在美國就有大約七千萬狗狗，平均每四個美國人就擁有一條狗。不過，我們迷戀它們的什么，我們實際上有多愛它們呢？為了找到答案，我們四處尋訪，搜集“愛犬一族”的第一手資料。星級狗狗護理是一門很賺錢的生意。為了讓愛犬心情愉悅、身體健康、儀表出眾，人們每年會將數(shù)以十億計的美金花在這些萬千寵愛在一身的狗狗身上。

楊：這是“薩姆森”，扎著馬尾的是“迪萊拉”。它們是約克夏獵犬，是一種身形嬌小的犬種。所以它們成年后的體重也就四磅左右。

帕特麗夏·楊住在華盛頓特區(qū)的近郊。

楊：它們都有好多款衣服。它們的衣服幾乎和我的一樣多（笑）。無論走到哪里都有人攔住我們。我覺得它們填補了我的空虛，因為我的孩子都長大了，家里沒有人陪我。所以，它們成了我的好伙伴。它們洗完澡從浴室出來后會穿上浴袍。它們有好幾套馬甲，這邊還有好幾套夾克衫。它們還有帽子和靴子。不過它們不喜歡戴帽子和穿靴子。這會有點冷，不過我覺著這樣也挺可愛的。