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76 A Dog Named Spot
小狗点点
“Why the doleful expression?” Tony asked the little girl.
“为什么一脸的忧伤呀？”汤姆问小女孩。
The little girl continued to walk aimlessly down the street towards our university dormitory.
小女孩不理他，继续沿街朝着大学宿舍方向目无目的地走着。
“Sally, did you lose your doll?”
“莎莉，是不是你的洋娃娃丢了？”
Sally stopped. Then she uttered a dolorous phrase that we could all understand.
小莎莉停下脚步，悲伤地说：
“My dog is dead,” she said, as tears filled her eyes.
“我的狗死了。”这时，她眼里含满了泪水。她的话我们都能理解。
Animal abuse was not my domain, but I could guess what happened to Spot.
谴责虐待动物并不属于我的职责范围，但我能猜出小狗点点到底怎么了。
Spot was born in the wild at the base of a dormant volcano.
点点出生在一座静火山山脚下的荒野里。
A family rescued him from starvation and domesticated him.
有一户人家救了他，才没有被饿死。
He was a very friendly and loyal dog.
他既友好又忠诚。
His first owner named him Spot because of his large black dorsal dot.
因他背部长有一个大黑点，他的第一任主人给他起了个名字——点点。
When Sally's family adopted him five years ago, someone at the veterinary clinic told me, “Spot is a doomed dog.”
当五年前莎莉家收养点点时，一个宠物诊所的人就告诉我说点点注定要早死。
I didn't know what that meant.
那时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个专断的祖父。
He especially liked to dominate defenseless animals.
他尤其喜欢控制无助的动物。
He acted like a despot with dominion over everyone and everything within his domicile.
他像个暴君控制着住宅里的每个人、每件事。
He domineered poor Spot, often abusing him just to prove that he was in a dominant position.
他压制可怜的点点，常常虐待他只是想证明自己的至高无上。
Neighbors called the police several times to complain.
邻居们好几次报警鸣不平，
However, each time, the police told the neighbors that it was a domestic problem and that they would not intervene.
但每次警方都说这是人家家里的事，外人不得干涉。
Sally's grandfather became more and more abusive as the years passed.
随着年龄的增长，莎莉的祖父变得越发爱虐待动物了。
His dotage simply made him more sadistic.
再加上年老糊涂，他就更是个虐待狂了。
After Spot died, Sally's family put Sally's grandfather into a care home.
点点死后，莎莉的家人把她祖父送进了疗养院。
Tony and I donated some money to help the community buy a new puppy for Sally.
汤姆和我捐钱帮助社区为莎莉买一只小狗。
Fortunately, there were many donors and in the end.
幸运的是，后来来了许多捐助者。
There was enough money to buy Sally a puppy that looked exactly like Spot.
这样我们终于有足够的钱为莎拉买一只与点点一模一样的小狗了。
