中國狗界新"寵" 小小熊貓狗惹人愛

It’s panda-monium in pet shops in China as dogs that look like the country’s unique and rare bears become all the rage.

據《紐約郵報》5月14日報道，中國的寵物商店裏出現了《魔豆傳奇》的主人公！事實上，這是一種酷似國寶大熊貓的狗，最近，這種熊貓狗十分流行。

These dogs that look like pandas are selling out in pet stores across the country.

在中國的寵物商店裏，這種熊貓狗遭瘋搶，很快便售罄。

In Chengdu city in southwest China’s Sichuan province, pet shop owner Hsin Ch’en cannot satisfy demand among the country’s new middle class who want the cute dogs as pets.

在中國西南部四川省成都市，一家寵物店店主陳先生表示，中國的新興中產階級想要可愛萌人的狗當寵物養，已經無法滿足他們的要求了。

“Ten years ago the natural instinct of a Chinese person was to eat a dog,” he told London’s Metro newspaper.

“十年前，中國人提到狗時，他們的自然本能是吃狗肉。”陳先生告訴倫敦地鐵報。

“Now we are like Westerners and want one as a companion. The cute breeds like French bulldogs and Labradors were the favourites, but now it is the panda dog.”

“現在我們有點像西方人，都想找個寵物做伴。這種可愛的狗看着類似法國鬥牛犬和紐芬蘭獵犬，是顧客們的最愛。但它現在是‘熊貓狗’。”

Actually, Hsin Ch’en is being disingenuous. The panda dog is not a separate breed of pooch at all, but rather a chow which has undergone a lot of cosmetic tomfoolery to make it resemble a panda.

實際上，陳先生沒有說出實情。熊貓狗並不是雜種狗的另外一個品種，她的真實身份是一隻松獅犬，經過美容之後，使得這種狗看起來像熊貓。

He went on: “I perfected the technique here and now it is spreading across the country. With a bit of careful grooming and coloring, it is easy to turn a chow into a panda dog in about two hours. Then the look will stay with the dog for around six weeks and the owners bring them back for some touching up.

陳先生還說：“我完善了美容技術，現在，這種技術正遍及全國。經過一些仔細的修飾和上色，松獅犬就輕而易舉地在兩個小時內變身爲熊貓狗。

“There are no chemicals or cruelty involved. But the price of the dog does rise significantly because of the amount of grooming that goes into it. People don’t mind paying the extra, though — they like the fact that heads turn in the street and they can tell their friends: ‘I have a panda dog.’”

“在變身過程中，沒有涉及任何的化學物質和殘忍行徑。由於多了美容的這道工序，熊貓狗的價格確實飛快上漲。不過人們並不在意，他們更喜歡街上的高回頭率，好向朋友們炫耀：“瞧，我有一隻熊貓狗。”