77 The Faithful Dog

Which animal is “man’s best friend”? We all know it is the dog. Dogs have earned the love and respect of humans. Many have given their own lives to save people. Dogs are faithful and devoted. For example, Bobby, a Skye terrier, went to market with his Scottish master every day. After the man died, Bobby would not move from his grave. He stayed there for about 10 years. He stayed until he died.

Dogs serve many useful functions. They are good at herding sheep. Whatever sheep are raised, a sheepherding dog is developed. For instance, there is the German Shepherd dog. In Scotland, there is the Shetland sheep dog. Both are recognized breeds.

Specially trained dogs lead the blind. Such dogs are carefully selected. It takes about three to five months to train them. Guide dogs will refuse to cross a busy street unless the traffic has stopped.

One kind of dog is the St. Bernard. It was developed by the monks of St. Bernard, located in the Alps of Switzerland. How did it get its name? The dog weighs from 140 to 220 pounds. It is one of the heaviest of all dogs.

St. Bernards are famous for rescuing travelers lost in the snow. They have a wonderful sense of smell. They find people buried under several feet of snow. A St. Bernard named Barry rescued 40 persons over a period of years.

There is a popular misconception about these dogs. They do not carry flasks around their necks. Sir Edwin Landseer misrepresented them this way in a painting.

哪种动物是“人类最好的朋友”？我们都知道是狗。狗赢得了人类的喜爱和尊重，许多狗甚至牺牲自己的生命去救人。狗是忠实且忠诚的。例如，一只斯凯梗博比，每天都和它的苏格兰主人去集市。主人去世后，博比不愿离开主人的坟墓，在那里待了大约10年，直到去世。

狗有许多有用的功能。它们很擅长牧羊。无论在哪里饲养绵羊，都会培育出牧羊犬。例如，有德国牧羊犬，在苏格兰有设得兰牧羊犬，这两种都是公认的品种。

经过特殊训练的狗为盲人引路。这类狗是经过精心挑选的，训练它们大约需要三到五个月。导盲犬在交通未停止时会拒绝穿过繁忙的街道。

其中一种狗是圣伯纳犬，它是由位于瑞士阿尔卑斯山的圣伯纳德修道院的僧侣们培育的。它是怎么得名的呢？这种狗体重在140到220磅之间，是所有狗中最重的品种之一。

圣伯纳犬因营救在雪中迷路的旅行者而闻名，它们嗅觉极佳，能找到被埋在几英尺深雪中的人。一只名叫巴里的圣伯纳犬在数年时间里营救了40人。

关于这些狗有一个普遍的误解，它们的脖子上并不挂着烧瓶。埃德温·兰西尔爵士在一幅画中错误地描绘了它们的这种形象。