藍貓愛柴犬

People in modern society like to raise dogs more than raising children. The situation used to be that one raised dogs in order to safeguard the home. However, there are plenty of reasons for people in modern times to raise dogs. Some do it because they have no friends; some do it because they don`t have a girl or boyfriend; some raise dogs after marriage because the couple don`t have things to talk about. It seems to show that as our life becomes more convenient, the relationship between people becomes more divided.

I have many female friends who would rather raise pets than have children. It takes nine months of pregnancy to give birth to a child. Your figure may be ruined after the pregnancy. You have to take care of children until they graduate from college. You might have to pick up the pieces after them if they turn out to be troublemakers. If your husband has an extra-marital affair when the child is young, and if you can`t bear to part with your child after the divorce, it`s still you who have to face the consequences. The thoughts of these alone could turn many women off about having a child. Simply put, the risk and the expenses of raising children are way too high.

With the current recession, young people aren`t brave enough to want to get married, not to mention having children. Many men`s priority list goes as follows: making money, buying a car, and buying a house. Wife and children usually come last. There are even quite a few men who want a mistress in addition to their families. It`s truly difficult for women to rely on modern-day marriages. With the divorce rate being so high, it`s indeed easier to have a dog instead. Maybe the loyalty and passion of dogs outshines the instability of men. This also made me unconsciously transfer my emotions to my pets. I ended up raising dogs, and I jumped into it with two Shiba Inu puppies. Many friends told me that I went overboard by choosing to face a decade plus of trouble from two hounds as I am a fragile woman.

Actually, my decision to keep them came by accident when I passed by a pet shop last year. I suddenly saw their two innocuous faces pressed against the window, with their tongues sticking out and smiling foolishly at me. I ended up staying there for an hour and didn`t want to leave. The conniving sales clerk saw me and brought the two puppies out for me to hold. The moment I held them in my arms, all rational thoughts disappeared. I immediately paid for them and brought them home. Sigh! I simply couldn`t resist the cuteness of the two little Shiba Inu.

However, it really takes a lot of time and effort to raise dogs. You have to feed them on time; you have to take them out for walks come rain or shine; you have to shower them and comb their hair. Their powers of destruction were unbelievable in their childhood. No pair of slippers or socks was exempted from their teeth. Even the new table I bought from IKEA now has one leg missing. Honestly, the thought of having to care for them were almost too much for me sometimes when I returned home after a day`s hard work. What else could I do with my sweet burdens?

To think now that they have grown into adults, with those two plump bodies rolling back and forth on the sofa, I can`t control the tears from rolling down my cheeks...I have finally raised them into adulthood! Every day when I go home and enter the door, I could hear the passionate howling of my two babies(sometimes it`s a bit too loud...). It`s quite a contrast to when I used to come home to an empty house. When I watch TV, they would saunter by to sit next to me and play with me. When I am working on the computer, they would come and tuck at the corner of my pants to remind me to pay attention to them. When I am heading out and driving the car, they would compete for the driver`s seat with me. When I go out on dates with my boyfriend, they would squeeze in and try to join the fun. Gosh! How could I live without them?!

Even though dogs are adorable, it`s a huge responsibility to raise them. One can`t choose to raise dogs based on a whim. Some people complain about the noise and the trouble after only a few days with a dog. They either give the dogs away or drive them up to the mountains and leave them there. That`s truly unforgivable. There is also a strange phenomenon in Taiwan that people will follow the trend to buy dogs whenever a movie about dogs comes to movie theaters. Golden Retrievers, Huskies, Labradors, Shiba Inu, are all examples of stray brand-name dogs on the street once a movie leaves the movie screen. I really don`t understand how these people could be so cruel as to ditch these cute dogs onto the street? They have lives and emotions too. I believe that feeling of displacement after being deserted is not uniquely human.

I feel blessed to have raised these two dogs. They are truly heart-warming, accompanying me through many lonely nights and years. I like to talk to them and watch them playing with me; I also like to watch them running wildly on the lawn. If one day, if there is such a day, when I could walk the dogs with the person I love at the river banks of Danshui, it`s not that far from the consummate happiness for a working girl in a modern city.

現代人喜歡養寵物多過於養小孩。在以前養狗可能是為了顧家，但現代人養狗的原因可多了。有人因為沒朋友養狗，有人因為沒情人養狗，有人結婚了反而養狗，原因是夫妻倆沒有話題可以聊，可見我們的生活越來越便利，但人與人之間，卻越來越疏離。

我週遭很多女性朋友就不願生小孩寧可養寵物。因為生小孩需要懷胎十個月，生完身材可能會走樣，小孩還要照顧他(們)到大學畢業，萬一不幸小孩成人不成材，可能還要幫他們擦屁股到老死。若是小孩還小而老公背著自己搞婚外情，到時離婚小孩又捨不得給別人養，苦的還不是自己...。光是這些疑慮，就讓許多女人對生孩子這件事倒盡胃口。簡單來說，養小孩的風險跟成本，實在太大了。

最近這幾年景氣好差，年輕人沒什麼膽結婚，更別提生孩子這件事，許多男生最先想到是賺錢，再來是買車子、買房子，最後才是妻子跟兒子，但有了妻小還想要馬子的男人也不少，現代婚姻真的難以讓女人依靠。現在離婚率這麼高，想一想，養狗還真的是簡單多了。也許狗的忠心與熱情，好過枕邊無情的男子，也讓我的情感，不自覺地轉移到寵物身上。我也不免其俗地養了狗，還一次養兩隻柴犬。很多朋友都說我很猛，一個柔弱女子竟選擇要面對兩隻獵犬的揉躪十幾年。

其實當初會養他們，只是因為去年剛好經過一家寵物店，隔著玻璃突然看到他們兩張無辜的臉湊上來，對著我吐著舌頭傻笑，就讓我待在那裡近一個小時不肯走，沒想到沒良心的店員看到我就抓他們出來給我抱，手中捧著他們的一瞬間，就把我的理性全都摧毀掉，馬上付了錢把他們帶回家...！唉！誰教我抵擋不了小柴柴的可愛模樣呢？

只是養狗真的需要很多愛心與時間，要按時餵牠們吃飯，帶他們出門散步(風雨無阻)，還要幫他們洗澡刷毛。他們小時候的破壞力真的很強，拖鞋、襪子沒有一雙沒慘遭他們毒嘴的，連IKEA買的新桌子也快缺了一隻腳。坦白說有時工作很累回到家時，一想到還要打理他們，就有點吃不消，但沒辦法，誰叫他們已經是我甜蜜的負荷了呢？

不過一想到他們已經長大成人，每天那兩個圓滾滾的身體在沙發上翻來跳去，我不禁欣慰地淚流滿面...我真的把他們養大了！每天回到家進家門前，就能聽到我家那兩個寶貝熱情的呼喊(雖然有點吵...)，不像以前一個人住時，家裡總是冷冷清清。看電視時，他們兩個沒事還會坐到身邊撒嬌；打電腦時還會走過來咬我的褲子，提醒我要理他們一下；開車出門時，還要跟我搶同一張駕駛座；跟男朋友約會時，還會硬擠過來湊熱鬧....天呀！如果沒有他們，我怎麼活！？

狗狗雖然很可愛，但養狗畢竟是一種責任，養他們不能靠一時興起。有許多人養沒幾天就嫌吵嫌麻煩，不是把牠送人不然就是載到山上丟棄，真的很沒良心。在台灣還有一個怪現象，每次只要有狗狗電影上映，就有一票人跟著流行跑去買狗，像黃金獵犬、哈士奇、拉不拉多、柴犬等，但電影下檔沒多久，路上就多了很多流浪名犬。真搞不懂怎麼會有人這麼狠心，把這些可愛的狗狗丟到街上讓他們自生自滅？他們也是有生命有感情的，我相信這種被狠心拋棄的失落感，可不只是人類才有。

我很欣慰能養到這兩隻狗，他們真的很窩心，陪我度過許多寂寞的歲月，我喜歡跟他們說說話，喜歡看他們跟我撒嬌，也很喜歡他們在草地上奔跑的瘋狂模樣。如果有一天，有那麼一天，能與心愛的人，一起牽著他們散步在淡水的黃昏河畔...一個都會女子的幸福，也不過如此簡單而已。