拉布拉多犬连续第19年当选美国最受欢迎犬种

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."
上周三，美国育犬协会公布年度最受欢迎犬种，拉布拉多寻回犬连续第19年当选。

德国牧羊犬位居第二，因为作为警犬的最佳选择，它的知名度越来越高。排在其后的是约克夏犬、金毛寻回犬和比格犬。

不过拉布拉多寻回犬长年占据冠军宝座的情形可能不会持续太久。

美国育犬协会的女发言人丽萨．皮特森说：“德国牧羊犬近三十年来首次跻身排行榜第二位，取代了去年的约克夏犬。”

此外，拳师犬、斗牛犬、腊肠犬、贵妇犬和西施犬也从164个犬种中脱颖而出，跻身排行榜前十名。这一排名根据美国育犬协会去年各犬种的登记数量编撰。

在过去十年中，哈瓦那犬从榜上的第92位上升到第32位，葡萄牙水犬从第80位上升到第60位，这部分是因为该犬种去年成为美国总统贝拉克．奥巴马的家庭宠物。

专门负责训练拉布拉多犬和德国牧羊犬的纽约市大都会运输署K9组的职员称，这两个犬种在抗击恐怖主义行动中不可或缺。

大都会运输署的威廉．莫朗吉说：“狗是我们的利器，是我们可以现成利用的最好武器。”

“我们知道，我们整个系统中真正起作用的就是K9组，它让整个运输系统持续运转。”