Essay Dog-to-dolls By John Gathright	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
お人形さん扱いされるイヌ 日常生活のさまざまな局面で私たちを助けてくれてきた犬は、人間にとって最も古い友人だと言われています。ところが最近、犬を気の合う友人としてではなく、人間のアクセサリーとして扱ったり、商売の道具にする傾向が強くなっているようです。戌年の年頭にあたり、彼らとの関係をもう一度見直してみませんか。

I'm a dog person. Are you?

Don't take offense. People will often ask you if you're a dog person in English. It doesn't mean, do you have a tail and slobber when you see food and sniff other people's bottoms. It means, do you like dogs - often in comparison to cats. I don't hate cats but if I had to choose, I would definitely be a dog person.

The reason I'm talking about dogs this week is because 2006 is the year of the dog, and I look around me and I think, that's fitting, because the world is going to the dogs - in more ways than one.

Most of all, I think it's going to the dogs in a good way. Man's best friend is helping us out in more ways than ever. Dogs help police and rescuers find people trapped inside buildings after major earthquakes. Dogs provide companionship to the lonely or the elderly. They also assist the hearing impaired and the blind. And most of all, they're great friends for people of all ages.

The friendship of dogs and man is as old as time. No one really knows, though, how the relationship came about, but it's one that's always been particularly moving to me. Take, for example, the remains of a boy and his dog unearthed by archaeologists from the ruins of Pompeii. The dog seems to be pulling on the boy's clothes, as if trying to save him

Dogs have always helped man, and sometimes I can't help thinking we're not really returning the favor. Just look at the dogs-to-dolls trend going on nowadays, where our four-legged friends are becoming more like accessories than companions.

I have seen some pretty embarrassed dogs walking around in some pretty wild gear. Of course, some dogs may like this and that's fine, but there's definitely a silent majority that's suffering from the dog-to-doll evolution. Dog fashion is big business and lonely owners are leaping at the chance to customize their pooches. Dog brands, brand dogs, dog stores, dog jewelry, dog cosmetics, dog perfume, dog clothes, and even dog shoes! There are books on how to teach your dog to sing, and I'ｖe even seen toothbrushes and eyelash combs for dogs

Recently, my eyes fell on a poor puppy that was in a state of major distress. A lady was trying her best to squeeze it into a tiny sweater. The poor dog was whining and scratching as it tried to stay out of the rainbow-colored straitjacket

I couldn't help but think, dogs don't ask us to wear tails so why do we make them wear our clothes. I mean, we already demand that they live in our houses and eat our food. It seems odd to me that you can dress a dog to look like its master, but there aren't any fashion goods to help masters look like their dogs!

But to be serious, I think dogs have a lot to teach us about life and how to live it to the fullest. Dogs have so many great qualities that we people seem to have forgotten. Just to name a few, they are loyal, kind, forgiving and loving. If people were more like dogs, what a better world it would be! In fact I feel so strongly about this that I'm thinking of starting a man-to-mutt movement for 2006. What do you think? We can all start off by wearing tails.

Shukan ST: Jan. 13, 2006

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