老外看台灣／阿柴坐機車引網友熱議 老外點出柴犬在台氾濫關鍵

【看CP學英文】近幾年來，在台北街頭看見數隻柴犬大搖大擺地逛大街已是稀鬆平常的事。然而，對於剛來台的外國人而言，這來自日本的狗為什麼在台灣會如此受歡迎至今仍是一個謎。

A Japanese breed of hunting dog, the Shiba Inu, has become a common sight in Taipei streets in recent years. Some social media users, however, have taken to social media to question how a dog, indigenous to Japan, came to become so popular in Taiwan.

近日，一位外國網友在美版PTT論壇Reddit上貼了一張「柴犬坐機車」文，照片中只見阿柴乖乖地坐在機車上，身體披著紅色小披風，耐心地等候主人的歸來。

A recent post on Reddit, captioned “Shiba in a moped” showed the adorable dog, sitting at attention with a little red cape on its back, patiently waiting for its owner’s return.

照片貼出後馬上得到愛狗人士的回應，其中一位也好奇地提問：「大家有發現近期養柴犬好像變得很流行嗎？」

The photo received many upvotes, but one social media user questioned: “Has anyone else noticed that Shibas are a huge trend now?”

這名網友表示自己並非住在台灣，但在疫情爆發前每年都會來台至少一次。

According to the Reddit user, he doesn’t live in Taiwan but often visited on a yearly basis prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

前幾年訪台時，這名外國網友透露當時看到街上的狗幾乎都是馬爾濟斯，而他也稱牠們為「皮包狗」。然而，近幾年來，他發現看來看去大部分的人似乎都改養純種柴犬了。

A few years ago, he noted that almost “every single person had a white Maltese”, which he coined as “purse dogs.” However, these days, all he can see are purebred Shiba Inus.

這名網友承認自己其實也非常喜歡柴犬，但在看到成群結隊挨餓、消瘦又無家可歸的台灣土狗後，又會感到非常慚愧。

The social media user admitted that he is a big fan of Shiba Inus, but he is starting to feel guilty, especially when he sees “packs of wet, hungry Taiwanese mountain dogs with no homes.”

他的疑問也立馬得到其他網友熱烈迴響，其中一位推斷可能是因為台灣和日本享有雷同的文化，進而追隨類似的新潮。

His question was soon answered by another social media user who explained that it was probably down to the fact that Taiwan and Japan share a lot of the same culture and pursue the same trends.

台灣人對於日本文化的喜愛如今不僅限於設計、時尚，就連寵物也要跟進，現在快讓日本代表的柴犬成為台灣新時代代言犬。

Taiwanese people’s love for Japanese culture extends far greater than fashion or style, as in this case, their dogs are also on the track to becoming the new “ambassador” of Taiwan canines.

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