爲你上天又何妨:忠犬"影子"的故事
Spending time with most dogs you will probably find they want nothing more than to be close to you and be at your side as you experience the world. Food, water and loving attention is all you need to provide to win a dog’s heart. It is a simple price. But the admission into their hearts is worth more than their weight in gold.
養狗的朋友肯定知道，在狗狗的心裏，沒有比和主人形影不離更重要的事情了。一點食物、一點水和你對它們的愛就能讓你成爲狗狗的全世界。對人類來講，這些要求是如此的簡單，然而你在它們心中的地位卻是千金不換的。Dan McManus is a professional paragliding and hang gliding instructor in Utah. He has been flying for about 37 years and he can be found most days catching the breeze at the flight park on a mountain ridge at the south end of the Salt Lake valley. However, in recent years he has also been joined on many flights by his service dog Shadow. McManus suffers from a general anxiety disorder but manages to keep many of the symptoms in check with the constant companionship of his Australian cattle dog. While flying in itself has been a calming pursuit he soon found out that his service dog never wanted to be away from him (a bit of separation anxiety for Shadow).
美國猶他州的丹.麥克馬斯納是一名滑翔傘運動專家，同時也是一名滑翔傘教練員。丹從事滑翔傘飛行運動已經近37年之久。大多數時間他都在南部山脈接近鹽湖谷盡頭的飛行場練習上空乘風飛翔。近年，他的很多次飛行都將自己的幫助犬“影子”帶身邊。“影子”是一隻澳大利亞牧羊犬。因爲丹患上了焦慮症，“影子”的職責就是陪伴丹，一旦丹的有症狀，他能做出預警。儘管滑翔傘運動員必須保持絕對冷靜，丹很快發現自己的服務犬很願意跟自已同行（“影子”沒見到丹會有一些不安）。McManus said he would often come home from flying to find that Shadow had scratched up the doors and floors while he was away. At the flight park Shadow could run but was often times on the ground chasing him from below as he made his flights. Shadow has even been to known to try to hold onto McManus’ boots with his teeth in order to get in the air. “It felt like he wanted to keep me safe.”
丹告訴我們，他不在家的時候，“影子”經常抓門和地板。在訓練場地，“影子”會跟在自己的滑翔器下面跑。“影子”甚至會咬住丹的鞋子，彷彿是想要確保丹時刻都很安全。
As a dog owner I can completely understand that. My Australian cattle dog mix, Chica, has been known to stand guard at the base of the cliff and keep people away from my belay partner. When I am on the ground, people are free to come and go as they please. But the moment I start climbing she is on watch.
作爲狗狗的主人，我很理解“影子”。它總是像個衛兵一樣站在訓練場地，當我套上安全繩索準備起飛時，它不讓任何人靠近我。當我在陸地上時，人們可以自由在我身邊活動，但當我準備起飛時，它就開始密切關注，不讓人打擾我。
With Shadow wanting nothing more than to be with him, about nine years ago McManus had a specialty harness made from the skin of a durable duffle bag and the two have been flying together since. Incidentally, Shadow was originally named Bandit but the name was quickly changed after it became apparent he did want to leave McManus’ side. Seeing the two fly together can easily be described as therapy for them both. McManus said the experience “resonated” with the two of them, “you just don’t get bored. There are so many aspects to it.”
當然“影子”最渴望的還是和丹一起飛翔。大約9年前，丹用一個厚實的帆布包爲“影子”特製了一個滑翔器馬甲揹帶，從此，主僕倆就開始了共同滑翔的生活。“影子”最開始被叫做“班迪”，當丹發現它喜歡寸步不離後，就給它改名字叫做“影子”。現在主僕倆飛翔在一起似乎是相互的慰藉。丹說與“影子”一起飛翔能感受到彼此“心靈相通”“我們從不厭倦對方，一切都那麼有趣。”
On this assignment, since there was no way you were going to get me off the ground, I decided to try using two GoPro cameras. I have never used them for work. In fact, my only real experience with them was shooting some boring video while snowboarding or rock climbing from my helmet. We were able to mount two cameras, one directly in front of the two and one next to Shadow’s shoulder. Then the cameras were set to take photos every second. I really had no clue what I captured with the cameras until I got the memory cards downloaded. At which point, after finding several frames I liked out of the thousands taken, I sent a profanity filled text message to one of the editors briefly explaining how happy I was with the results.
丹講因爲記者不能隨同飛翔，所以，他決定這次滑翔會將極限運動攝像機安裝在滑翔器上。丹說從來沒有在高空滑翔的時候用過這種攝像機，實際上，他就用過兩次，一次是滑雪的拍攝；還有一次是攀巖時安裝在了頭盔上。這次滑翔，可以安裝兩個攝像頭，一個安裝在正前方；一個安裝在“影子”的前腳旁。丹告訴我們，自己也不知道攝像機拍攝到了些什麼，直到將內存卡里的東西拷貝下來後才欣賞到。丹講，我選出幾個自己最愛的畫面，然後發信息告訴編輯，我是多麼的喜歡攝影的結果。
Dogs seem to know just what we need at times. Before Chica, I had the privilege of raising Gizmo, an Australian Shepherd, for about 10 years before he passed away due to illness. And just like Shadow is there for McManus, Gizmo knew when I needed him most and was always at my side. To me it makes perfect sense for Shadow to be strapped in under the wing. The two genuinely looked happy for each other as they made laps over a mountain ridge. Upon landing McManus was showered with affection and kisses from Shadow.
丹說“狗似乎直到我們需要什麼。在“影子”以前，我有一個叫“小玩意”的狗，它是隻澳大利亞牧羊犬。我們在一起生活了10年，最後它生病去世了。和“影子”一樣，“小玩意”總是直到我需要什麼，總是陪伴在我左右。丹說，飛翔時有“影子”陪伴感覺完美的。”丹和“影子”在天空上一圈一圈的滑翔，主僕倆是那樣的開心。着陸時，丹流露出對“影子”的痛愛，給了“影子”一個吻。The two are sharing in an experience that would be unique on its own, but is made more special by the bond they have together. “This is home. He would rather be here than anywhere else. This is his freedom,” McManus said.
丹和“影子”共同體驗着這樣特殊的一段人生經歷，這也使得主僕倆的感情更加深厚。丹說“這就是我們的家，我們更願意在這裏體驗着自由。”
