Of course, if a pet causes a rift in your relationship with another person, the problem may not be the animal.

當(dāng)然，如果一只寵物讓你與其他人的關(guān)系產(chǎn)生了裂痕，或許不是動(dòng)物的錯(cuò)。

Human-behavior experts -- that is, therapists -- say it is typically not the pet's fault if something goes wrong between people. 'In my experience, pets do fine with relationships as long as the relationship is doing well,' says Katherine Brodsky, a clinical social worker in Manchester, N.H. 'But when the couple is having problems, often the pets are used as weapons for one partner against the other, just as children often are.'

人類行為專家（即臨床醫(yī)學(xué)家）說如果人之間出現(xiàn)問題，一般不是寵物的錯(cuò)。美國(guó)新罕布什爾州曼徹斯特市臨床社工布羅斯基(Katherine Brodsky)說，據(jù)經(jīng)驗(yàn)表明，只要夫妻關(guān)系良好，寵物就不是個(gè)問題。但一旦夫妻間出現(xiàn)問題，二人就會(huì)拿寵物借題發(fā)揮攻擊對(duì)方，就象孩子一樣。

Kim Gorode can tell you all about it. Her live-in boyfriend loves their two cats but is allergic to them, so he gets weekly allergy shots. This works out well, she says -- until they have a spat. 'If it's a money issue, he sometimes blames it on the fact that he has to pay for allergy shots and I don't, or if he's in a bad mood he will say he's congested because of the cats,' says Ms. Gorode, 27, an investor-relations representative who lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. 'It's totally his trump card.'

格羅德(Kim Gorode)贊同這一觀點(diǎn)。她今年27歲，是一名投資者關(guān)系代表，住在紐約布魯克林，養(yǎng)了兩只貓。男朋友和她住在一起。他也喜歡這兩只貓，但卻對(duì)貓過敏，所以每周都打抗過敏針。她說，本來這樣過得挺好，直到他們發(fā)生了口角。如果是錢方面的事，他有時(shí)會(huì)抱怨說他需要花錢打針，而格羅德不用。如果是心情不好，他會(huì)說自己過敏都是因?yàn)樨垺＿@成了他的王牌了。