At around 9 a.m., she wakes up groggily. She slowly gets up from the couch and stretches. As each of her family members comes down the stairs after a good night’s rest, she greets them with a wagging tail and plenty of kisses. This is my dog.

Weighing in at around 36 kilograms and .7 meters tall, my dog is a Goldendoodle, a hybrid between a Golden Retriever and a Poodle. Every night she sleeps in my parent’s bedroom and accompanies us to the mall, to the grocery store, to the bank, or even to a relative’s house. She only eats her dog food blended with boiled chicken, ground beef, carrots, rice, green beans, or cottage cheese. She only eats her bones after she’s eaten dinner and always manages to snipe a couple of cookies or crackers for a snack. You may think she’s spoilt, but she’s nothing compared to the typical American dog.

Americans interpret the phrase “Dog is man’s best friend” religiously. Animal abuse officers are constantly on parole and every dog owner provides the best for their pet. A prime example of such devotion is a man from Wisconsin named John Unger. Because his aging dog suffered from arthritis and had difficulty sleeping, Unger would swim in Lake Superior and cradle his dog to sleep. A photographer took a snapshot of the two together, the photo went viral, and thousands of people reached out to Unger. In the end, Unger received $25,000 in donations to aid in his dog’s medical bills.

在西方有一句家喻户晓的谚语：狗是人类最好的朋友。美国人对此深信不疑，并且用实际行动将这句话诠释得淋漓尽致。

在美国，一旦某个家庭决定养狗，就意味着他们今后做大部分生活决定的时候都要考虑到这个好朋友并为它做一些相应的安排。此外，他们还需要为狗狗做好三个方面的准备——住宿、食物和各类开销。

美国人对狗的极度喜爱催生了各类专为宠物提供服务的旅馆、商店和美容院。宠物们可以享受到全方位的贵宾级待遇，而它们的主人则往往要为此支付一笔可观的费用。现在，就让Amirah带我们去看一看美国人是怎样照顾他们最好的朋友的吧。