VOA健康报道2024 残疾的治疗猫（在线收听）

残疾的治疗猫

　　Every day Juanita Mengel, a 67-year-old woman from the state of Ohio, wakes up and puts on her manufactured leg.

　　来自俄亥俄州的67岁妇女胡安妮塔·门格尔每天醒来后都会戴上她的假腿。

　　The device is called a prosthetic.

　　这种装置被称为假肢。

　　Then, Mengel does the same for Lola-Pearl, her colorful five-year-old cat.

　　然后，门格尔为她那只彩色的五岁小猫罗拉-珀尔戴上假肢。

　　Lola-Pearl is missing her back left leg.

　　罗拉-珀尔失去了她的左后腿。

　　Mengel has many cats.

　　门格尔有很多猫。

　　Most of them have disabilities.

　　其中大多数猫都有残疾。

　　But Lola-Pearl is special.

　　但罗拉-珀尔是特别的。

　　She is a therapy cat.

　　她是一只治疗猫。

　　And, she and Mengel are partners of a kind.

　　而且，她和门格尔是合作伙伴。

　　They are among 200 therapy cat teams registered in the United States by the nonprofit group, Pet Partners.

　　他们是非营利性组织宠物伙伴在美国注册的200个治疗猫团队中的一员。

　　The group helps humans and pets alike by setting them up into teams to provide animal-assisted intervention.

　　该组织通过将人类和宠物组成小组提供动物辅助干预来帮助他们。

　　The teams visit hospitals, nursing homes and schools and assist those in need.

　　这些小组访问医院、疗养院和学校，帮助有需要的人。

　　Taylor Chastain Griffin is national director of animal-assisted interventions at Pet Partners.

　　泰勒·查斯坦·格里芬是宠物伙伴组织动物辅助干预的全国主管。

　　She said, "A therapy animal is an animal who's been assessed based on their ability to meet new people and not just tolerate the interaction, but actively enjoy it."

　　她说：“人们根据动物认识新人类的能力来评估其是否能担任治疗动物，治疗动物不仅能容忍这种互动，还能积极地享受这种互动。”

　　Chastain Griffin is a researcher who studies the effects of therapy cats.

　　查斯坦·格里芬是一名研究治疗猫效果的研究人员。

　　She said there needs to be more research done in cat therapy.

　　她说，在利用猫进行治疗方面需要进行更多的研究。

　　She said that there is a lot of research on other therapy animals like dogs, and many people are surprised to learn that cats can be therapy animals too.

　　她说，关于狗等其他治疗动物的研究很多，很多人惊讶地发现猫也可以成为治疗动物。

　　"They go into a setting and people are like, 'Whoa, there's a cat on a leash. What's happening? It kind of inspires people to connect in a way we haven't traditionally heard talked about in other therapy animal interventions," Chastain Griffin said.

　　查斯坦·格里芬说：“当他们进入一个场景时，人们会想，‘哇，这里有一只用皮带拴着的猫。这是怎么回事？这在某种程度上激发了人们以一种我们在其他动物治疗干预措施中从未听说过的方式建立联系。’”

　　Besides dogs and cats, Pet Partners registers seven other species as therapy animals, including horses, rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, birds, mini pigs, and llamas and alpacas.

　　除了狗和猫，宠物伙伴还登记了其他七种治疗动物，包括马、兔子、老鼠、豚鼠、鸟、小香猪、美洲驼和羊驼。

　　Mengel said Lola-Pearl showed signs that she would make a good therapy cat soon after the animal joined her family.

　　门格尔说，罗拉-珀尔在加入她家后不久就有迹象表明，她会成为一只很好的治疗猫。

　　Mengel took her new cat to a meeting for amputees.

　　门格尔带着她的新猫去参加一个被截肢者会议。

　　"She was so good with people I just knew she would be a good therapy cat. People really were attracted to her, too," Mengel said.

　　门格尔说：“她和人相处得很好，我知道她会是一只很好的治疗猫。人们也真的被她吸引了”。

　　Recently people who attended a support group for amputees were able to meet Lola-Pearl.

　　最近，参加被截肢者互助小组的人有机会见到罗拉-珀尔。

　　They petted her as she woke up from a rest.

　　当她醒来时，他们抚摸她。

　　On the side of the cat carrier she rode in was a sign: "Therapy Cat" it read.

　　在她的猫笼一侧有一块牌子，上面写着：“治疗猫”。

　　Mengel was a traveling nurse when she was in a car accident that almost killed her.

　　门格尔是一名流动护士，她曾遭遇了一场车祸，差点丧命。

　　One of her legs could not be saved.

　　她的一条腿没能保住。

　　Later, she connected with a friend in the state of Missouri who had a severely injured kitten.

　　后来，她联系了密苏里州的一位朋友，这位朋友有一只受了重伤的小猫。

　　Her legs were twisted together.

　　她的腿缠绕在一起。

　　An animal medical specialist worked to repair the damage but, in the end, they had to remove one of the baby cat's legs.

　　一名动物医学专家努力修复了损伤，但最终，他们不得不切除了这只小猫的一条腿。

　　That kitten was Lola-Pearl.

　　那只小猫就是罗拉-珀尔。

　　Mengel took Lola-Pearl as her cat after talking with her friend.

　　门格尔在和她的朋友交谈后，把罗拉-珀尔当成了她的猫。

　　Despite the difficulties Mengel has faced, she is thankful for Lola-Pearl and their work together.

　　尽管门格尔面临着困难，但她还是感谢罗拉-珀尔和他们合作。

　　"It's a really rewarding experience," she said, "I get just as much out of it as the people that I visit."

　　她说：“这是一次非常有益的经历，我从中得到的和我拜访的人一样多。”