■我最好的朋友
My Furry Friend

◎Caroline/卡洛琳

Growing up, I always wanted a dog. Probably because most of my friends had them, my favorite TV families had them, and it just seemed normal, and American, to have a pooch in the house.

My Dad is very clean. Not just clean, I might say more Danny Tanner-ish in his habits. As in, he hoses down the backyard, and front walkway, and even gets halfway down the street, just for fun, until we have to yell, “Dad, you’re wasting water! You can’t hose down the world!” Then he stops, and comes inside, and starts the very important task of scrubbing the fingerprint smudges off the walls.

So, no dog. When I was eight, we moved across town to a larger house, with a pool, in a “safer” neighborhood, in a gated community. With a large yard. I was very against moving. Why, I cried, were we picking up and deserting everything and everyone we knew and loved? Our old house was great, we had an avocado tree, it was on a super steep hill, what more could you want?！Well, in order to calm me down, I guess, my parents told me that we could get a dog when we moved to the new, barren home. I was sold. I quickly shut my trap.

经典谚语

Old friends and old wines are best.

陈酒味醇，老友情深。

长大后，我一直想要一只宠物狗。可能是由于它是很多朋友都拥有的宝物，而且我最喜爱的电视家庭也有一只。就像每个美国家庭都有一只狗一样，这似乎是习以为常的事。

我的父亲非常爱干净，或许不只是爱干净，在生活习惯上，我得说他跟“丹尼·泰纳”有一拼。在家的时候，他经常清洗院子、门廊，有时甚至会顺便把半条马路给冲洗一番。而他做这一切，只是觉得好玩。每当这时，我们不得不大声制止：“爸爸，你在浪费水！你总不能把全世界给冲洗一遍吧！”然后他就会停下来，回到家中，开始他另一项重要任务：清理墙上的脏指纹。

所以，我们家一直没养狗。我8岁的时候，全家搬到了另外一个镇上更大的房子里，那里有个大游泳池，治安更好，小区是半封闭式管理。但是，我非常反对搬家。我很不解为什么我们要放弃这里一切熟悉的人和事，去一个陌生的地方？我们的老房子很棒，在那个非常陡的山坡上还有一棵鳄梨树，这么多我们热爱的东西，还有什么不满足？好吧，我猜为了让我冷静下来，我父母同意在我们搬到那个荒凉的新家后买一只小宠物狗。可是，我被骗了。我中计了。

I feel it was serendipitous that we didn’t get a dog after the move. My parents said that I would never walk it, which I vehemently denied, but which was probably true. And saying we would get a dog and not following through was pretty much the only thing my parents ever promised that didn’t happen in my life so far. I guilted them about it for a few years, sobbing on holidays when I said “the only thing I want is a dog” and refused presents. Then snuck them into my room on the sly.

I am in my twenties now, and our new roommate just moved in. She has a dog. A West Highland Terrier, or Westie, as they are known. He is fluffy, but not too fluffy, small, but not too small, white, but not too white. He is perfect.

I don’t even believe in perfection really, but this dog is perfect for me. It’s the dog I always dreamt of having, and it loves me as I knew a dog would. It follows me into the bathroom when I shower. At first we would scare each other, I was not used to having a non-human, living thing with a beating heart following me around and it would surprise me around corners.

Slowly, we got used to each other. Now I can tell when the dog needs to go out, or when he just sees a few birds in our yard. I give the doggie water, I walk him, and I teach him boundaries. My boyfriend was impressed when I taught him how to lie in his bed while the humans are eating, so as not to bother us.“I can’t believe he listens to you.” As Cesar Millan would say, I am the Alpha Dog.

In some ways, I am glad I have（been forced to）wait until this age to have a dog around. I don’t take him for granted. I am happy every morning when I wake up and hear his little nails clicking across the floor. We are a good match. I can see how a dog is not for everyone. They are very needy and require a lot of attention and affection and structure.

Now my parents are semi-retired but my Dad travels a lot for work.

对于搬家后父母没有实现买狗的诺言，我感到非常讶异。我父母说，我不会遛狗，对这个事实我极力否认。买狗大概是我父母唯一没能履行的承诺。对此，我纠缠了好些年，每当重大节日我撒娇哭泣对他们说只想要只狗狗时，他们总会拒绝，但事后还是会悄悄走进房间安慰我。

现在我20岁了，新室友刚搬进来，而她正好有一只狗，西部高地白色小猎犬，俗称西高地。它毛发蓬松，但又不是太蓬松；体积小，但也不算太小；白色的，但也非苍白。在我眼里，它是那样完美。

我并不相信世上有完美的事物，但它让我相信了。这就是我梦寐以求的，而它对我回报的爱也是我所期待的。它甚至在洗澡的时候都跟着我。由于不习惯经常被一个有心跳的生物跟随，在最初的相处里我们常常吓到对方，我还时常被待在角落里的它惊到。

我们在相处中逐渐习惯了彼此。现在我已经非常熟悉它的作息——它什么时候想出门，或者只是在院子里看着几只小鸟。我喂它水，带它散步，教它边界问题。而我的男朋友见我教它要懂礼貌，不要打扰人吃饭时，简直惊呆了。“我真不敢相信它居然能听懂你讲话！”正如塞萨尔·米兰所言，我就是领头狗。

某些时刻，我很感谢父母让我在这个年纪才拥有一只狗（虽然是被迫的）；我并没把它视为理所当然。每天早上当我醒来的时候，听到它的小爪子在地板上发出轻微的声音，感到满满的幸福。我们是天生一对的搭档。我知道，并不是每只狗都可以很好地与人相处。这很难得，它们需要足够的关注和感情。

现在我的父母已经半退休了，但我父亲还是需要经常出差。每个月

He’s off to Luxembourg, Mexico, or the Turks and Caicos every month. I ask my Mom if she would like a dog to keep her company. She says no, she has a stepdog now（ours）and she can visit it whenever she wants.

And yes, my furry friend will go with me wherever I want to go and whenever, he is very accommodating like that.

他都要去卢森堡、墨西哥或土耳其、凯科斯。我问妈妈是否需要一只狗狗陪伴，她说不需要，因为已经有一只她可以随时探访的小狗了。

是的，我最好的朋友愿意陪我去我想去的所有地方，而且，不论何时，它都是这样宽容。