拉布拉多犬連續第19年當選美國最受歡迎犬種

The Labrador Retriever was named the top dog in the United States on Wednesday for the 19th consecutive year by the American Kennel Club.

The German Shepherd came in second place for 2009, due to its increased visibility as a preferred breed for law enforcement, followed by the Yorkshire Terrier, the Golden Retriever and the Beagle.

But the Labrador Retriever's long run at the top may not last too much longer.

"For the first time in nearly three decades the German Shepherd dog finds itself in the number two position, displacing the Yorkshire Terrier," said American Kennel Club spokeswoman Lisa Peterson.

Boxers, Bulldogs, Dachshunds, Poodles and Shih Tzu rounded out the top 10 Most popular dogs in the list of 164 breeds. The ranking is based on the number of registrations for the breed with the American Kennel Club.

Over the past decade, the Havanese went from 92nd most popular breed to 32nd and the Portuguese Water Dog jumped to 60th from 80th place, thanks in part to being President Barack Obama's family pet.

Officers from the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority's K-9 unit, who train with either Labradors or German Shepherds, said the dogs were essential to fighting terrorism.

"The dogs are the best thing that we have, they're the best thing that's out there." said William Morange of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

"We know the one thing that really works is the K-9 unit, it keeps the transportation system running."
上週三，美國育犬協會公佈年度最受歡迎犬種，拉布拉多尋回犬連續第19年當選。

德國牧羊犬位居第二，因爲作爲警犬的最佳選擇，它的知名度越來越高。排在其後的是約克夏犬、金毛尋回犬和比格犬。

不過拉布拉多尋回犬長年佔據冠軍寶座的情形可能不會持續太久。

美國育犬協會的女發言人麗薩•皮特森說：“德國牧羊犬近三十年來首次躋身排行榜第二位，取代了去年的約克夏犬。”

此外，拳師犬、鬥牛犬、臘腸犬、貴婦犬和西施犬也從164個犬種中脫穎而出，躋身排行榜前十名。這一排名根據美國育犬協會去年各犬種的登記數量編撰。

在過去十年中，哈瓦那犬從榜上的第92位上升到第32位，葡萄牙水犬從第80位上升到第60位，這部分是因爲該犬種去年成爲美國總統貝拉克•奧巴馬的家庭寵物。

專門負責訓練拉布拉多犬和德國牧羊犬的紐約市大都會運輸署K9組的職員稱，這兩個犬種在抗擊恐怖主義行動中不可或缺。

大都會運輸署的威廉•莫朗吉說：“狗是我們的利器，是我們可以現成利用的最好武器。”

“我們知道，我們整個系統中真正起作用的就是K9組，它讓整個運輸系統持續運轉。”