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A sporting-goods business in Bemidji had been one of my sponsors, and one evening I gave a public slide show at its store.
伯米吉的一家体育用品商一直是我的一个赞助商，一天晚上，我在他的店里做了一个公开的幻灯片展示。
There was an older man sitting in a wheelchair, and I saw that when I told how Cookie, my lead dog, had saved my life, his eyes teared up and he nodded.
当我讲述我生命中最重要的狗Cookie如何拯救我的生命时，我看到一位坐在轮椅上的老人泪流满面，点了点头。
When the event was over, he wheeled up and shook my hand. "I had a dog like your Cookie—a dog that saved my life."
活动结束后，他转过身来和我握了握手。“我养了一条狗，和你的狗一样——这条狗救了我的命。”
"Oh, did you run sleds?"
“哦，你也参加了雪橇比赛吗?”
He shook his head. "No, not like that. I lived up in Thief River Falls when I was drafted to serve in the Korean War.
他摇了摇头。“不，不是这样的，当我征召参加朝鲜战争时，我在锡夫里弗福尔斯待过一段时间。
I had a Labrador retriever that I raised and hunted with. Then I was wounded—lost the use of my legs.
我养过一只拉布拉多猎犬，我和它一起打猎，后来我受伤了——失去了双腿。
When I came back from the hospital, he was waiting. He spent the rest of his life by my side.
当我从医院回来时，它在等我，它在我身边度过了余生。
"I would have gone crazy without him. I'd sit for hours and talk to him …"
“如果没有它，我会发疯的，我会坐上几个小时跟它说话……”
He trailed off, and his eyes were moist again. "I still miss him."
老人声音渐渐低沉，眼睛又湿润了，“我依然想念它。”
I looked at him, then out the store window.
我看着他，然后从商店的窗户往外看。
It was spring, and the snow was melting outside, but I was seeing a 13-year-old and a Lab sitting in a duck blind in the fall.
当时是春天，外面的雪在融化，但我看到，秋天的时候一个13岁的孩子和一条拉布拉多猎犬正坐在一只死去鸭子的旁边。
Thief River Falls, he'd said, and the Korean War. The timing was right, and the place.
老人曾说过，锡夫里弗福尔斯，朝鲜战争爆发，时机是正确的，地点也是。
"Your dog," I said. "Was he named Ike?"
“你的狗,”我说。“它叫艾克吗？”
The man smiled and nodded. "Why, yes. But how … Did you know him?"
老人微笑着点点头。“你怎么知道，是的，但你是怎么认识这条狗的？”
That was why Ike had not come back. He had another job, taking care of his sick owner.
这就是艾克没有回来的原因，它有另一份工作，照顾生病的主人。
"Yes," I said, turning to him. "He was my best friend."
“是的，”我转身对他说，“它是我最好的朋友。”
