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76 A Dog Named Spot
小狗點點
“Why the doleful expression?” Tony asked the little girl.
“為什么一臉的憂傷呀？”湯姆問小女孩。
The little girl continued to walk aimlessly down the street towards our university dormitory.
小女孩不理他，繼續沿街朝著大學宿舍方向目無目的地走著。
“Sally, did you lose your doll?”
“莎莉，是不是你的洋娃娃丟了？”
Sally stopped. Then she uttered a dolorous phrase that we could all understand.
小莎莉停下腳步，悲傷地說：
“My dog is dead,” she said, as tears filled her eyes.
“我的狗死了?！边@時，她眼里含滿了淚水。她的話我們都能理解。
Animal abuse was not my domain, but I could guess what happened to Spot.
譴責虐待動物并不屬于我的職責范圍，但我能猜出小狗點點到底怎么了。
Spot was born in the wild at the base of a dormant volcano.
點點出生在一座靜火山山腳下的荒野里。
A family rescued him from starvation and domesticated him.
有一戶人家救了他，才沒有被餓死。
He was a very friendly and loyal dog.
他既友好又忠誠。
His first owner named him Spot because of his large black dorsal dot.
因他背部長有一個大黑點，他的第一任主人給他起了個名字——點點。
When Sally's family adopted him five years ago, someone at the veterinary clinic told me, “Spot is a doomed dog.”
當五年前莎莉家收養點點時，一個寵物診所的人就告訴我說點點注定要早死。
I didn't know what that meant.
那時我不明白他到底是什么意思。
What I did know was that Sally's grandfather was a domineering man.
但我十分明白的是莎莉有個專斷的祖父。
He especially liked to dominate defenseless animals.
他尤其喜歡控制無助的動物。
He acted like a despot with dominion over everyone and everything within his domicile.
他像個暴君控制著住宅里的每個人、每件事。
He domineered poor Spot, often abusing him just to prove that he was in a dominant position.
他壓制可憐的點點，常常虐待他只是想證明自己的至高無上。
Neighbors called the police several times to complain.
鄰居們好幾次報警鳴不平，
However, each time, the police told the neighbors that it was a domestic problem and that they would not intervene.
但每次警方都說這是人家家里的事，外人不得干涉。
Sally's grandfather became more and more abusive as the years passed.
隨著年齡的增長，莎莉的祖父變得越發愛虐待動物了。
His dotage simply made him more sadistic.
再加上年老糊涂，他就更是個虐待狂了。
After Spot died, Sally's family put Sally's grandfather into a care home.
點點死后，莎莉的家人把她祖父送進了療養院。
Tony and I donated some money to help the community buy a new puppy for Sally.
湯姆和我捐錢幫助社區為莎莉買一只小狗。
Fortunately, there were many donors and in the end.
幸運的是，后來來了許多捐助者。
There was enough money to buy Sally a puppy that looked exactly like Spot.
這樣我們終于有足夠的錢為莎拉買一只與點點一模一樣的小狗了。
