我把手搭在他的肩上，他那长满疥癣的尾巴有气无力地拍了拍不锈钢检查桌。我长叹了一口气，说：“他有家。”
之后的三个晚上、两个白天，这只狗(我称他为谢普)就侧卧在我公寓的地板上。我和室友利用几个小时的时间给他喂水，试图让他吃一点炒鸡蛋。尽管他无法下咽，但是每当我碰他的时候，他都会轻轻地动一下尾巴尖。
在他来到我家的第三天早上10点左右，我返回家中为装电话的人开门。一进门，差一点儿被那只又蹦又跳的野狗撞倒在地。谢普康复了！
时间一天天过去，那浑身疥癣、肚子饿得咕咕叫、差点死在我面前的野狗，现在可是肌肉健壮，重达80磅。他有着宽大的胸脯，身上的黑毛浓密而有光泽。有好几次，当我的身心被孤独和沮丧快要摧垮的时候，谢普为了报答我的恩情，都会把他那无拘无束的友情传达给我，直至我别无选择，重新露出笑脸，和他玩起“丢棒拾棒”的游戏。
回首往夕，我与谢普相识时，我们都处于生活的低谷，但是如今我们不会感到孤单，也不再流浪。我想说的是：我们两个都回家了。
田野猎犬【Field Spaniel】
田野猎犬结合了美观和效用，是一种匀称、稳固的伴侣。
产 地：英国
概 述：田野猎犬有牢固的身体结构、平顺的肌肉组织，身体的每个部分都十分协调。它乖巧听话、敏感度高、聪明伶俐、性格活跃，具有独立的个性，是运动犬种的稀有品种，适用于在恶劣的荒野上狩猎，也是友好、听话的家庭宠物犬。
asphalt [' 鎠f鎙t] n. 沥青
He covered over the hole with a piece of asphalt felt.
他用一块沥青油毡盖住了漏洞。
hoist [hist] v. 升起；升高；举起
He hoisted the package over his shoulder.
他把包裹扛在肩上。
appreciation [,pri:i' ein] n. 赏识；鉴识；感激
My appreciation can not be expressed by verbalism.
我的感激之情并非言辞所能表达。
melancholy [' melnkli] n. 忧沉；悲哀；愁思
A deep melancholy runs through her song.
她的歌中贯穿着悲伤的情调。
冰冷的倾盆大雨冲刷着小城酒吧前面的柏油马路。
别人抛弃了他，虐待他，然而如今他有了朋友，他对我的感激难以言表。
回首往夕，我与谢普相识时，我们都处于生活的低谷，但是如今我们不会感到孤单，也不再流浪。
... Half his body was covered with mange.
be covered with：满是；被……覆盖
Now and then, his malnourished legs buckled and he fell to the pavement.
now and then：时而；不时
生命中的阳光
Sunshine
佚名 / Anonymous
His gleaming, golden fur as sunny as sunlight gave Sunshine his name. It also sets him apart from other dogs. His hair has a silky soft feel like lush plush velvet.
His fleecy milk white feet are fluffy like down. He looks at the other dogs, cocks his head sideways, and then follows me. Follows until he becomes the boss.
Sunshine purrs then peers at me through golden green eyes. He leads me towards his dog pan, stops before he gets there, turns his head and scrutinizes me. I follow.
He turns up his nose at yesterday' s food. I put fresh food in his pan. He eyes me, and then turns as I open him a can of chicken and liver to fill his dish. He eats. I fill his water bowl with fresh water and add a couple of ice cubes. He has me well trained.
Sunshine tells me to whichever door he chooses to pass through when he wants to go outside. He scratches on the French Doors when he decides to come in. I spring from my chair and open the door. He walks in, head held high, tail straight up. He has me under his paw.
When Glenn, my husband, would come home from work, Sunshine would then transfer his affections to him. He never failed to accompany him into the walk-in closet. He smelled, then walked to Glenn' s house shoes, and pulled them forward with his paw.
When Glenn would settle down in his chair to read, Sunshine would curl up on the back of his chair, and nap. During the day, when I worked at my computer, he always quietly curled in my lap.
Many times I have heard Glenn laugh as he looked out the south window. I asked, "Why are you laughing?"
Glenn would say,"There goes Sunshine up the hill to check the menu at Doctor Gene and Mary' s house." Or he would say, "Sunshine' s coming down the hill. He' s checked out Doctor' s place." These travels of Sunshine brought about a nickname, The Partnership Dog.
When Sunshine feels left out, he reaches a white paw out and grabs my skirt. I take him in my arms and stroke his velvety fur. That satisfies him.
Sunshine has hobbies. He likes to ride in the car, sleep on the car' s roof in the garage, and watch television, especially the dog food commercials where the dogs swish across the screen.
One day, Sunshine and I strolled across our backyard, which joins the Mark Twain National Forest. I carried my salad bucket planning to pick greens.
Sunshine stopped and made a blood curdling noise deep in his throat. I stopped and looked at him. Oh!The velvet fur stood straight outward from his body. His eyes slanted. What was he looking at?
I stood still and looked toward the woods. A second later, I saw two coyotes just outside the fence. I yelled and threw my salad bucket at the fence. They disappeared.
"Oh, Sunshine," I picked him up and hugged him, "You sure paid for your keeps today."
He purred then laid his head on my shoulders.
Glenn suddenly passed away with a heart attack. A stunned shock gripped me. I couldn' t sleep: I couldn' t eat. Exhausted, but I had to carry on. I lay on the bed at night hoping to rest.
I would become aware of breathing, purring by my pillow. Sunshine would be lying on the bed near my head. He had never slept on our bed before. He stroked my hair with his paw. Glenn always stroked my hair before he went to sleep. How did Sunshine know to do this?
Sunshine seems to have changes since Glenn' s passing. He doesn' t take all. He knows how to give by walking away from his dog food in favor of another dog. He shows how to comfort by letting a pup snuggle up to him to sleep. He grants patience with me by not prancing when I' m slow to feed him.
I don' t understand how Sunshine knows so much about me, a human life, but he has helped make my lonely days more bearable.
