Man's best friendship is furever, tail and all 人犬友谊 地久天长

Whether or not you spell their name backwards, or consider that they may in fact be the species with nine lives as the number itself is fully spelled out within their very name, dogs (aka: canines) are indeed sublime, perhaps even divine critters.

不管你是将它们的名字反着拼（dog——god），还是根据它们的名字（canine）认为它们实际上有九条命，狗（犬科动物）确实是崇高的，甚至是神圣。

As luck would have it, Canis domesticus has for some reason decided to hitch its waggly-tailed wagon to we upright-walking -- though hardly upright -- schmucks.

幸好，出于某种原因，它们决定被人类驯化，摇摆着尾巴跟在直立行走（虽然极少品行正直之辈）的愚蠢人类后头。

At some point tens of thousands of years ago in the evolution of mankind, dogs decided to throw nature for a loop and lose their lupus tendencies, preferring long walks by our side and dry bones for snacks instead of the loose flesh of our necks as appetizers, as wolfpacks are wont to do.

数万年前，在人类漫长的进化过程中，狗决定让项圈束缚住自己，丢弃自己的狼性，陪伴在人类左右，吃着人类给的骨头，而不是和群狼一样，撕碎人类脆弱的脖颈，将其当作开胃菜。

As for their loyalty to we wayward folk, you may ask well ask what’s in it for domesticated dogs?

你可能会问，驯化后的犬类为何会对刚愎自用的人类忠心耿耿？

I for one have no idea, but having said that, perhaps it’s a good thing they remain speechless – having been stuck with a single-word vocabulary (woof! bow-wow! wan!... pick your patois) since we ditched the trees and hit the savanna standing.

这我不知道，但是不得不说，在我们砍伐森林、破坏热带草原的时候，它们没法儿说话——只能发出一个词（呜！嗷呜！汪！……这主要取决于地区）也许是一件好事。

What if they were suddenly gifted with intelligible speech, and admitted they were only with us for the free lunch and protection from coyotes?

如果它们突然能够说话了，承认和我们一起只是为了享用免费的吃食，让我们保护它们免受土狼的攻击，那该怎么办？

How depressing.

那这得多叫人郁闷啊。

Let’s see what the ancients have to say.

再让我们来看看古人是怎么说的。

The Tang Dynasty’s (618–907) leading poetic rivals made a few references to man’s best friend in their copious body of work.

在唐朝（公元618-907）时期，文人墨客各领风骚，挥洒华章无数，其中部分作品曾提到这位人类最好的朋友。

“A dog's bark amid the water's sound; Peach blossom that's made thicker by the rain…” said Li Bai (701–762) in his Visiting the Taoist Priest Dai Tianshan But Not Finding Him.

“犬吠水声中，桃花带雨浓。”李白在《访戴天山道士不遇》中吟咏道。

The mention evokes a sense of longing and melancholia, associated with a common background din that forms an aural construct around our memories.

诗中“犬吠”一词，令人读罢心驰神往，同时儿时的喧嚣浮现在脑海，勾起了淡淡惆怅。

And Du Fu (712-770), in his A
Song
of
War
Chariots, perhaps unwittingly revealed that we often take our barking brothers for granted.

而杜甫在他的《兵车行》中不经意间透露出，我们经常不把我们的狗兄弟当回事儿。

“Men
of
China
are
able
to
face
the
stiffest
battle;But
their
officers
drive
them
like
chickens and
dogs.”

“况复秦兵耐苦战，被驱不异犬与鸡。”

Moving back to modernity, the staying power of the popular pet is testament to its adaptability.

说回现代，饲养宠物狗的潮流经久不衰，这也证明了它们良好的适应性。

Several millennia ago, during the pastoral stage of social organization, dogs were bred for their ability to keep sheep and other vegetarians from running beyond the shepherd’s ken – while eagerly awaiting their “masters” to slaughter these same ruminants and then throw them a bone.

几千年前，当社会组织还处于畜牧阶段的时候，狗被用于看守绵羊和其他草食动物，避免它们跑出牧羊人的视线——同时，它们也急切地渴望着“主人”去宰杀这些反刍动物，然后扔几块骨头给它们。

As if a loyal pup’s wagging tail and playful pouncing when we arrive home each night isn’t enough to cement their friendship with us forever – let’s not forget that when buildings crumble in quakes or the sightless try and negotiate a busy intersection, it’s not the cats and goldfish that are called to duty.

每天晚上当我们回到家时，忠诚的小狗崽都会摇着尾巴扑过来迎接我们，如果这还不够巩固人犬之间永恒的友谊的话，别忘了，地震后帮助我们在废墟中搜救伤患，帮助盲人穿过繁忙的十字路口的可不是猫和金鱼。