By the time Ellen and Joe Lollman reached their first anniversary, things were souring. They no longer took long walks together or spent weekend afternoons chatting over coffee at outdoor cafes. Each evening they holed up in separate rooms of their home reading or watching TV alone.
艾倫和喬?羅爾曼結(jié)婚一年后，生活開始變了味。他們不再長時間一起散步，周末也不會一起在室外咖啡館里閑談一個下午。每天晚上，他們各自關(guān)在房間里一個人讀書或看電視。
　　
Finally, fearful their marriage was on the rocks, the Dallas couple made an appointment with a therapist -- for their dogs.
最后由于擔(dān)心他們的婚姻會觸礁，這一對美國達(dá)拉斯夫婦與治療師約定了時間──卻是為他們的狗。
　　
'We both had dogs a lot longer than we had each other,' explains Ms. Lollman. Yet it wasn't until she and her new husband moved in together after a long-distance courtship that their faithful companions actually met and, as luck had it, decided they hated each other. The Lollmans were forced to take sides.
艾倫解釋說，他們兩個人在認(rèn)識彼此之前就與各自的愛犬相伴了。但兩人的狗直到他們經(jīng)過異地戀愛、最終結(jié)合并生活在一起后才打了照面，不幸的是，兩條狗互相看不順眼。夫妻倆只好各為其狗了。
　　
Love triangles -- or, in this case, quadrangles -- involving pets might be the trickiest types of relationships.
把寵物也包含在內(nèi)的三角戀（或這里應(yīng)該是四角戀）可能是一種最微妙的戀愛關(guān)系。
　　
We love our animal friends, of course, and for good reason. They're always happy to see us. They're forgiving of our faults. And if we care for them and show them affection, they will love us forever.
我們當(dāng)然有理由愛我們的動物朋友。他們見到我們時總是很高興。他們會容忍我們的過失。如果我們關(guān)心他們、愛護(hù)他們，他們會一輩子都愛我們。
　　
But the same is not necessarily true for humans, and there's the rub. Sometimes our slavish bonds with our pets can damage our relationships with family, friends and, especially, lovers.
但人卻不一定，人會有摩擦。成為寵物的奴隸有時會破壞我們與家人、朋友、特別是戀人的關(guān)系。
　　
Consider Marina Wolak and Buck, her one-year-old German shepherd. One day last week, she served him steamed broccoli for breakfast, raw ribs for a snack, and a grilled chicken breast and baked sweet potato for dinner. Her husband, Kirk, says he and their 10-year-old daughter got the chicken for dinner, but had no sides.
設(shè)想一下瑪麗娜?沃勒克和她一歲大德國牧羊犬巴克。上周的一天，她給它吃蒸椰菜當(dāng)早飯，生排骨做零食，烤雞胸和甘薯做晚餐。她的丈夫科克說他和10歲的女兒晚上也吃了雞，卻沒有雞胸肉。
　　
'Hello, what about us?' says Mr. Wolak, a 43-year-old computer consultant in Deerfield Beach, Fla. 'She caters to this dog and has nothing left in the tank for the family.'
43歲的科克?沃勒克是佛羅里達(dá)州的一名計算機咨詢師。他說，喂，我們怎么辦？她把狗喂得飽飽的，卻什么也沒給家里人留。
　　
Mr. Wolak says his wife buys fresh beef, chicken and rabbit for Buck, takes the dog to the park three times a day and puts fresh sheets on the mattress in his kennel twice a week. 'She will stay up late if the dog needs an extra walk because he is constipated, but she can't stay up and spend a little quality time with her husband,' he says.
沃勒克說他太太給巴克買新鮮的牛肉、雞肉和兔子，每天三次帶狗到公園里散步，每周給狗窩里的床墊換兩次床單。他還說，如果狗患便秘需要多散步，他太太會很晚才睡。但她卻不會為了與丈夫一起好好待一會兒而晚睡。