寵物秘史

譯/李丹璇 審訂/周亞莉

寵物秘史

譯/李丹璇 審訂/周亞莉

A Secret History of Pets

Humans have kept animals as pets since ancient times and now， here are some of the extraordinary facts about our reverence and affection for all kinds of creatures—furry， fishy， feline，equine and canine in all societies and throughout history.

c.1拉丁語circa的縮寫，相當于around，為“左右”“大約”的意思。10000 BC

In what is now Israel， a puppy is buried cradled in the hand of a human.It’s the earliest clear evidence we have that humans and dogs.

c.7500 BC

A cat resembling an African wildcat2非洲野貓。野貓的一個亞種。一些野貓約于1萬年前在中東被馴養，成為家貓的祖先。is buried with a human on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. This early evidence suggests that cats were fi rst domesticated in the Fertile Crescent3新月沃地，或稱肥沃新月，指西亞兩河流域及其毗鄰的地中海東岸的一片弧形地區。(where the African and Eurasian continents meet) and later brought as pets to Cyprus and Egypt.

c.3000 BC

Ancient Egyptian paintings depict house cats which were fi rst allowed into homes to hunt mice after the Egyptians invented the idea of storing grain indoors. Cats， which were sacred in Egypt， are depicted in many statues.

AD 168–190

Chinese Emperor Ling Ti falls so in love with his dogs that he gives them the rank of senior court officials.This allows them to eat the fi nest food available， sleep on oriental rugs and have special bodyguards.

c.AD 500–1500

Pets are not uncommon in Europe during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance but they are kept for the most part by wealthy households. Near the end of this period the word “pet” is introduced into English.

1369

Zhu Yuanzhang， known as China’s Hongwu Emperor， establishes a porcelain company that produces tubs for gold fi sh.The shape of the modern goldfish bowl evolved from these tubs but they weren’t healthy environments for fi sh.

1493

On his return from South America the explorer Christopher Columbus brings Queen Isabella of Spain a pair of Cuban Amazon parrots.

1542–1567

Before she is forced to abdicate4abdicate退位，遜位。her throne Mary Stuart (Queen of Scots) surrounds herself with an entourage5entourage（統稱）隨從人員，隨行。of tiny dogs dressed in blue velvet6velvet絲絨，天鵝絨。suits.According to legend， when she was beheaded in 1587 a tiny pet dog was hiding inside Mary’s dress.

1768

The royal governor7governor統治者，管轄者，總督。of Britain’s Virginia colony keeps 28 red birds(most likely cardinals) in cages. By the late 1800s， birds are the most popular indoor pet in America. Canaries won’t achieve most-favoured cage-bird status until the Thirties.

c.1860

The fi rst commercially prepared dog food is introduced in England.

c.1870

World famous actress Sarah Bernhardt loses her pet tortoises in a fi re.

1877

English author Anna Sewell publishes Black Beauty， one of the best-selling books of all time. Her sympathy for working animals led to kinder treatment.

1910

Country Life Magazine tells readers that it’s more affordable to get around by car than horse. However miniature horses， including the stubborn Shetland pony， will go on to become popular pets for rich kids in the Twenties.1931

German Shepherds Judy， Meta and Folly become the first dogs for the blind in Britain. Their new owners are veterans who were blinded during the First World War.

1944

Susan， a Pembroke corgi， is given to the future Queen as a gift for her 18th birthday from her father King George VI. Even today all of the Queen’s many corgis and dorgis (which are across between corgis and dachshunds8達克斯獵犬，俗稱臘腸犬。) are descended from Susan.

1947

Sylvester and Tweety， who will become one of the most notable comedy duos in animation history， make their fi rst appearance together in the Warner Brothers cartoon Tweetie Pie9美國家庭喜劇短片，曾獲1948年奧斯卡最佳動畫短片獎。.

1950s

Women go nuts10go nuts癡迷，變得瘋狂。for tiny dogs. Some even dye their miniature poodles to match their clothes.

1956

British author Dodie Smith’s novel The Hundred And One Dalmatians11達爾馬提亞狗，俗稱斑點狗。turns the spotted breed into a sensation.Sadly many new owners later abandon their dogs at animal shelters.

1957

The Soviet Union fi res a dog， Laika12世界上第一只太空狗。，into space on the Sputnik 2.

1967

The TV show Star Trek airs an episode called “The Trouble With Tribbles”， starring fuzzy guinea piglike rodents who make trilling noises that irritate Klingons. The Tribbles begin having babies like mad and they eat nearly all the ship’s supplies13supplies（軍隊或探險隊等的）補給。.The episode makes a point about the dangers of introducing non-native species， such as when rabbits were released in Australia in 1859141859年，英國人托馬斯·奧斯汀（Thomas Austin）在澳大利亞放養兔子，導致當地自然環境嚴重破壞。.

1975

Jason， the fi rst Blue Peter15英國兒童節目。cat， plays the part of the Cheshire Cat in the Christmas production of Alice In Blue Peter Land. He sounds strangely similar to the show’s presenter John Noakes.

1978

The animated film Watership Down spurs an interest in keeping rabbits as pets.

1984

The European Union bans the sale of wild-caught Mediterranean tortoises， stamping down on16stamp down on鎮壓，打壓。the tortoise-as-pet fad.

1988

Australian Wally Cochran breeds the first Labradoodle—a cross between a poodle and a Labrador retrie-ver—as a way to create a dog that won’t aggravate17aggravate使嚴重，使惡化。its owner’s allergies18allergy過敏反應。.

1990

The fi rst Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is released， sparking a terrapin boom.

2005

The city of Rome bans the giving away of goldfish and other animals as prizes at carnivals.

2006

New Zealand passes a law to ensure that all licensed dogs have a microchip inserted into the skin around their neck so they can be identi fi ed if they get lost. ■

自古，人類便將動物養作寵物。縱觀歷史，人類曾經飼養過毛皮動物、魚類、貓科、馬科和犬科等各類動物，不同社會都對動物心存敬畏與愛憐之情，以下便是與此相關的一些奇特事實。

公元前1萬年左右

在今以色列境內，人們發現了一只蜷縮在主人手里的隨葬小狗。這是表明人類與狗的特殊關系的最早明晰佐證。

公元前7500年左右

在地中海的塞浦路斯島，人們發現了一只酷似非洲野貓的陪葬貓。這一早期證據表明，人類對貓的馴化發端于非洲與亞歐大陸交匯處的新月沃土地帶；隨后貓作為寵物，被引入塞浦路斯和埃及。

公元前3000年左右

自打埃及人萌發室內屯糧的想法，家貓就獲準入室捕捉老鼠。古埃及畫作對此有所描繪。在埃及，貓是神圣的，很多雕像中都有體現。

公元168年—190年

中國漢靈帝對狗情有獨鐘，以至為狗封官進爵，此舉使狗得以享用美食，睡名貴地毯，還有專人服侍。

公元500年—1500年左右

歐洲中世紀及文藝復興時期，寵物已是司空見慣，只是多由富有階層飼養。文藝復興末期，pet（寵物）一詞被引入英語。

1369年

中國洪武皇帝朱元璋開辦了瓷器廠，制造養金魚的容器。現代魚缸的形狀便由此演化而來，但缸養并不適宜魚類生存。

1493年

探險家克里斯托弗·哥倫布從南美回到西班牙，為西班牙女王伊莎貝拉帶回一對古巴亞馬孫鸚鵡。

1542年—1567年

蘇格蘭女王瑪麗·斯圖亞特被迫退位前，養的一群小狗穿著藍色天鵝絨華服，伴隨在她身邊。相傳，瑪麗在1587年被斬首時，裙下還藏著一只小寵物狗。

1768年

英屬殖民地弗吉尼亞的皇家總督寵養了28只紅色鳥（很有可能是紅衣鳳頭鳥）。19世紀末期，鳥成為最受美國人歡迎的室內寵物。直到20世紀30年代，金絲雀才成為人們最為青睞的籠養觀賞鳥。

1860年左右

英國首次引入商業化狗糧。

1870年左右

一場火災讓世界著名女演員莎拉·伯恩哈特痛失愛龜。

1877年

英國作家安娜·休厄爾出版《黑駿馬》，該書成為史上最暢銷的書之一。她在書中展現出對役用動物的同情，使這些動物得到了更好的對待。

1910年

英國《鄉村生活》雜志載文，倡導開車出門，這遠比騎馬更經濟。盡管如此，20世紀20年代，像設得蘭這種桀驁不馴的矮種馬仍然深受富家子弟的垂青。

1931年

德國牧羊犬朱迪、梅塔和弗雷成為英國首批導盲犬。它們的新主人是在第一次世界大戰中失明的退伍士兵。

1944年

英國國王喬治六世將一只名叫蘇珊的彭布羅克威爾士柯吉犬送給愛女（即現任英國女王伊麗莎白二世）作18歲生日禮物。迄今，女王諸多的柯吉犬和多吉犬（柯吉犬和達克斯獵犬的雜交品種）都是蘇珊的后代。

1947年

傻大貓與崔弟在華納兄弟公司的卡通片《小鳥派》中首次一起亮相，成為動畫史上最著名的喜劇搭檔之一。

1950年代

女性癡迷小型犬。一些女性甚至給迷你貴賓犬染色以搭配自己的服裝。

1956年

英國作家多迪·史密斯的小說《101只斑點狗》引發了飼養斑點狗的風潮。但令人難過的是，許多新晉主人隨后就將狗狗棄至動物收容所。

1957年

蘇聯通過史普尼克2號人造衛星將小狗萊卡送入太空。

1967年

電視劇《星際迷航》中有一集叫“毛球族的麻煩”，主角是一種噬齒類動物——毛球，它們外形酷似豚鼠，制造出的噪音會惹怒克林貢人。毛球開始瘋狂繁殖，幾乎吃光了艦船上所有的食物。這集電視劇旨在告訴人們，引入外來物種有多么危險。1859年澳大利亞放養兔子一事即為佐證。

1975年

杰森是《藍彼得》節目的第一只寵物貓，在圣誕節目《愛麗絲漫游藍彼得記》中扮演柴郡貓。其聲音與《藍彼得》主持人約翰·諾克斯神似。

1978年

動畫電影《瓦特希普高原》激發了人們飼養寵物兔的興趣。

1984年

歐盟禁售野生地中海陸龜，打壓了飼龜為寵的風潮。

1988年

澳大利亞沃利·科克倫培育出了首只拉布拉多德利犬，即貴賓犬和拉布拉多犬的雜交品種。其目的是培育出不會加重主人過敏癥狀的寵物狗。

1990年

《忍者神龜》第一部上映，引發人們飼養淡水龜的熱情。

2005年

意大利羅馬市禁止將金魚和其他動物作為狂歡節獎品相互饋贈。

2006年

新西蘭頒布法令，規定為所有登記在冊的寵物狗頸部植入芯片，以便走失時確認身份。 □

（譯者單位：西北師范大學外國語學院）

Most Famous Dogs in History (1)Laika, Soviet Space Dog

Laika was a stray dog from the streets of Moscow， trained along with two other dogs for the Soviet space program in 1957. Eventually，she was selected as the sole occupant of the Sputnik 2， becoming the fi rst animal to orbit earth. At the time， the technology didn’t exist to de-orbit the spacecraft and return it to Earth safely， so Soviet of fi cials said that Laika was euthanized prior to oxygen depletion on the sixth day of orbit. It was revealed in 2002 that the dog actually died within hours of launch， due to overheating. In 2008， Soviet officials erected a small monument to Laika， near the military research facility where she was trained.