Chapter 7

Chapter seven, When we walked into the animal shelter on 85th Street and Amsterdam, I heard barking. It was like a doggy glee club that was out of tune. Officer Perez was in charge of the shelter. She had lots of curly hair and looked a little like the French poodle in cage three. "How will I know which dog to pick?" I asked Officer Perez. "Oh, you'll know," she said with a smile. "The right dog will give you a sign. It just happens, like magic." We split up. Each of us took a row. Except Emily. She refused to participate. Instead, she just sat by Officer Perez's desk reading her book, How to Think Like a Reptile.

第七章，当我们走进位于阿姆斯特丹第八十五街和动物收容所的时候，我听到了狗叫。 就像走调的狗狗合唱团。 佩雷斯警官负责避难所。 她有很多卷曲的头发，看起来有点像三号笼子里的法国贵宾犬。 “我怎么知道该选哪只狗呢？”我问佩雷斯警官。 “哦，你会知道的，”她笑着说。 “合适的狗会给你一个信号。 事情就这样发生了，就像变魔术一样。” 我们分开了。我们每个人坐一排。 除了艾米莉。她拒绝参加。 相反，她只是坐在佩雷斯警官的桌子旁读她的书，《如何像爬行动物一样思考》。

I started down the middle aisle. There were cages stacked two-high on both sides. Each cage held a lost or abandoned dog. I wondered which dog was going to give me a sign. It was definitely not the little guy in the first cage—he was completely hairless except for tiny tufts coming out of his ears. "Sorry, pal," I said as I passed by him. "Our family only has one bald guy, and that's my uncle Gary." I continued down the aisle, looking in every cage. I passed a furry little black dog with white paws and a white spot on his chest. His bottom teeth stuck out much farther than his top teeth. "You are going to need braces," I said to him.

我开始沿着中间的过道走。 两边都堆着两层高的笼子。 每个笼子里都有一只走失或被遗弃的狗。 我不知道哪只狗会给我一个信号。 它绝对不是第一个笼子里的那只小家伙——除了耳朵上长出一小簇毛外，它身上完全没有毛。 “对不起，伙计，”我从他身边走过时说。 “我们家只有一个秃头，那就是我叔叔加里。” 我继续沿着过道往前走，查看每一个笼子。 我经过一只毛茸茸的小黑狗，爪子是白色的，胸前有一个白点。 他的下牙比上牙突出得多。 “你需要戴牙套，”我对他说。

He didn't laugh. I moved on. The dog in the next cage was a boxer. He drooled a lot. It looked like the Hudson River was coming out of his mouth. If we adopted him, he would definitely need a bib. I passed a cage with the funniest- looking little dog you've ever seen. He looked like a beige hot dog. He had a long tail but definitely came up short in the fur department. And speaking of short, his legs were so short, there was no room for muscles. I couldn't believe those stubby legs were able to hold up that long body of his.

他没有笑。我继续前进。 隔壁笼子里的狗是一只拳师犬。 他流了很多口水。就像哈德逊河从他嘴里流出来一样。 如果我们收养他，他肯定需要一个围嘴。 我经过一个笼子，里面有一只你从未见过的样子最滑稽的小狗。 他看起来像个米色热狗。 他有一条长长的尾巴，但在皮毛方面绝对不够。 说到矮，他的腿太短了，没有肌肉的空间。 我简直不敢相信他那双粗短的腿竟能支撑起他那长长的身体。

By this time, I had looked at probably twenty dogs. There wasn't one that connected with me. I turned around and headed back the way I came. As I passed the cage with the beige hot dog again, he ran to the front of the cage and sat down. I knelt down slowly. I didn't want to scare him. Then, he put his paw through the bars of the cage and held it out to me. Without even thinking, I took his paw. Before you could say, "Nice to meet you," we were shaking hands.

到这个时候，我已经看了大约20只狗。 没有一个和我有关。 我转过身，原路返回。 当我再次经过放着米色热狗的笼子时，它跑到笼子前面坐了下来。 我慢慢地跪下来。我不想吓到他。 然后，它把爪子伸进笼子的栅栏，伸给我看。 我想都没想就抓住了他的爪子。 你还没来得及说“很高兴见到你”，我们就开始握手了。

"What'd I tell you?" a voice said behind me. I turned around to see Officer Perez smiling at me. "You don't pick them, they pick you." I looked at the little dog, never letting go of his paw. He was not at all what I had in mind. But I'll tell you this: When a dog gives you a sign, you have to listen. "Mom! Dad! Emily!" I hollered. "Here he is! I've found him." All three of them came running. Emily looked in the cage and started to laugh. "He looks like a corn dog without a stick!"

“我怎么跟你说的？”一个声音在我身后说。 我转过身来，看到佩雷斯警官正对我微笑。 “不是你挑选他们，而是他们挑选你。” 我看着那只小狗，一直抓着它的爪子。 他完全不是我心目中的人。 但我要告诉你：当狗给你信号时，你必须倾听。 “妈妈!爸爸!艾米丽!”我大声喊道。 “他来了!”我找到他了。” 他们三个人都跑了过来。 爱米丽朝笼子里看了看，笑了起来。 “他看起来就像没有棍子的玉米热狗！”

she hooted. "Let me take him out so you can meet him," Officer Perez said. "Before we get carried away here," my dad said, "let me remind everyone that small dogs are extremely yappy." "This little dachshund is still a puppy," Officer Perez said. "Puppies can be trained." She already had unlocked his cage and was lifting him out. She gently placed him on the floor in front of us. He was so happy to be free. I know this sounds crazy, but it really looked like he was smiling at me. "You make me smile, too," I said, kneeling down right next to him. With that, he started running in a circle, the way dogs do when they chase their tails. He went faster and faster, until you couldn't see where his head stopped and his tail began.

她大声叫嚣。“让我带他出去，这样你就能见到他了，”佩雷斯警官说。 “在我们得意忘形之前，”爸爸说，“让我提醒大家，小狗是非常爱叫的。” “这只小腊肠犬还是只小狗，”佩雷斯警官说。 “小狗是可以训练的。”她已经打开了他的笼子，把他抬了出来。 她轻轻地把他放在我们面前的地板上。 他很高兴能重获自由。 我知道这听起来很疯狂，但他看起来真的在对我微笑。 “你也让我笑了。”我说着，在他身边跪了下来。 说完，他开始绕着圈跑，就像狗追逐自己的尾巴一样。 他跑得越来越快，直到你看不见他的头停在哪里，尾巴从哪里开始。