冠冠的異想世界

這是一篇在網路上看到的文章，是和動物棄養有關，原本想說練習一下英文的閱讀能力，就由眼睛博士帶領著，一路讀完，讀完時心情有點重，但眼中的雨水(裝孝維的冠老爹，辦公室內會下雨??)差一點就流了下來....(文字的描述總是會讓人有想象空間，若是對於殘忍的景象不太能接受的人，請斟酌觀賞...)

↑我不是主角啦(摘自網路照片)...雖然Sam有幸福快樂的結局，可是也請大家多多照顧我的朋友們囉!!

ps.好心的冠老爹怕大家有英文閱讀恐懼症(其實是冠老爹有啦!!!)，把一些生字解釋也一起加上去囉...

His Name is Sam                    Story by Chris Benton

On the first day of class our professor explained to us that we would be responsible for six speeches, each with a different motivation. He advised us to pick subjects that we were interested in. I decided to center my six speeches around animals, especially dogs.
For my speech to demonstrate, I brought my German Shepherd "Bodger" to class and demonstrated obedience(順從) commands. Finally the semester was almost over and I had one more speech to give. The speech’s motivation was to persuade. I decided on the topic of spaying(割除卵巢) and neutering(閹割) pets. My goal was to try to persuade my classmates to neuter their pets.

So I started researching the topic. There was plenty of material, articles that told of the millions of dogs and cats that were euthanized every year in various animal control facilities. 

The final speech was looming closer, but I felt well prepared. My notes were full of facts and statistics that I felt sure would motivate even the most naive(幼稚的) pet owner to succumb(屈服於) to my plea(請求).

A couple of days before our speeches were due, I had the bright idea of going to the local branch of the Humane(人道的) Society and borrowing a puppy to use as a sort of a visual aid. I called the Humane Society and explained what I wanted. They were very happy to accommodate me.

The day before my speech, I went to pick up the puppy. I was feeling very confident. I could quote all the statistics and numbers without ever looking at my notes. The puppy, I felt, would add the final emotional touch. When I arrived at the Humane Society I was met by a young guy, named Ron. He was very excited about my speech and asked if I would like a tour of the facilities before I picked up the puppy. We started out in the reception area.

The lobby was full, mostly with people dropping off various animals that they no longer wanted. Ron explained to me that this branch of the Humane society took in about fifty animals a day and adopted out twenty. As we stood there I heard snatches(奪得) of conversation, "I can't keep him, he digs holes in my garden" "They’re such cute puppies, I know you will have no trouble finding homes for them." "She is wild, I can't control her."

I heard one of Humane Society's volunteer explain to the lady with the litter of puppies that the Society was filled with puppies and that these puppies would immediately be put to sleep. The woman who brought the puppies in just shrugged, "I can't help it" she whined(哀訴), "they are getting too big, I don't have room for them." We left the reception area and Ron led me into the staging area where the incoming animals were evaluated for adoptability.

Over half never even made it to the adoption center. There were just too many. As we went through the different areas, I felt more and more depressed. No amount of statistics, could take the place of seeing the reality of what this throw away attitude did to the living, breathing animal. It was overwhelming. Finally Ron stopped in front of a closed door. 

I read the sign on the door. Euthanization(使安樂死) Area. He knocked firmly on the door. A middle-aged woman in a white lab coat opened it immediately. Her name is Peggy. The room was small. There were a couple of cages on the wall and a cabinet with syringes(注射器) and vials(藥水瓶) of a clear liquid. In the middle of the room was an examining table with a rubber mat on top.

There were two doors other then the one I had entered. Both were closed, one said to incinerator(焚化爐) room, and the other had no sign, but I could hear various animal noises coming from behind the closed door. In the back of the room, near the door that was marked incinerator, were the objects that caused my distress.

Two wheel barrels, filled with the bodies of dead kittens and puppies. I stared in horror. Nothing had prepared me for this, I felt my legs grow weak and my breathing become rapid and shallow. I wanted to run from that room, screaming. Peggy seemed not to notice my state of shock.

She started talking about the Euthanization process, but I wasn't hearing her. I could not tear my gaze(盯) away from the wheel barrels and those dozens of pathetic little bodies. Finally, Peggy seemed to notice that I was not paying attention to her. "Are you listening?" She asked irritably(性急地). "I'm only going to go through this once." 

I tore my gaze from the back of the room and looked at her. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing would come out, so I nodded. She told me that behind the unmarked door were the animals that were scheduled for euthanasia that day.

She picked up a chart that was hanging from the wall. "One fifty-three is next." She said as she looked at the chart. "I'll go get him." As Peggy opened the unmarked door I peered(凝視) into the room beyond. It was a small room, but the walls were lined and stacked with cages. It looked like they were all occupied. Peggy opened the door of one of the lower cages and removed the occupant.

As Peggy brought the dog into the room I could see that the dog was no more than a puppy maybe five or six months old. He was mostly black, with a small amount of tan above his eyes and on his feet. He was very excited and bouncing up and down, trying to sniff everything in this new environment. Peggy lifted the pup onto the table. She had a card in her hand. I read the card. It said that number one fifty-three was a mixed Shepherd, 6 months old, surrendered two days ago by a family.

Reason of surrender was given as jumps on children. At the bottom was a note that said Name: Sam. Peggy was quick and efficient, from lots of practice, I guessed. She laid one fifty-three down on his side and tied a rubber tourniquet(壓血帶) around his front leg. 

She turned to fill the syringe from the vial of clear liquid. All this time I was standing at the head of the table. I could see the moment that one fifty-three went from a curious puppy to a terrified puppy. He did not like being held down and he started to struggle.

It was then that I finally found my voice. I bent over the struggling puppy and whispered "Sam, your name is Sam."

At the sound of his name Sam quit struggling. He wagged his tail tentatively and his soft pink tongue darted out and licked my hand. And that is how he spent his last moment. I watched his eyes fade from hopefulness to nothingness. It was over very quickly.

The tears could not be contained any longer. I kept my head down so as not to embarrass myself in front of the stoic Peggy. My tears fell onto the still body on the table. Now you know." Peggy said softly. Then she turned away. "Ron will be waiting for you," I left the room.

Although it seem like it had been hours, only fifteen minutes had gone by since Ron had left me at the door. I made my way back to the reception area. Ron had the puppy already to go. After giving me some instructions about what to feed the puppy, he handed the carrying cage over to me and wished me good luck on my speech. That night I went home and spent many hours playing with the orphan puppy. I went to bed that night but I could not sleep. After a while I got up and looked at my speech notes with their numbers and statistics. Without second thought I tore them up and threw them away. I went back to bed.

Sometime during the night I finally fell asleep. The next morning I arrived at my Speech class with the puppy. When my turn came to give my speech. I walked up to the front of the class with the puppy in my arms. I took a deep breath, and I told the class about the life and death of Sam. 

When I finished my speech I became aware that I was crying. I apologized to the class and took my seat. After class the teacher handed out a critique with our grades. I had got an "A." His comments said "Very moving and persuasive." Two days later, on the last day of class, one of my classmates came up to me. She was an older lady that I had never spoken to in class.

She stopped me on our way out of the classroom. "I want you to know that I adopted the puppy you brought to class." She said. "His name is Sam." 


看完後...更覺得大家都應該對自己的行為負責任....
最新有人在說要把寵物戶籍化，估且不論是否為了要搶新聞版面，抑或真的在做選民服務，重點就是要避免街頭的流浪狗或流浪貓太多；前幾天看到新聞上寫說，寵物犬的來源是購買的佔了快一半，貓的領養率則自3,4成降到2成多(印象數字,有心人請自行查詢)，冠老爹還是語重心長的提醒大家.....

請多用領養代替購買，愛心是不會分品種的...