你听说过“失宠假”吗？

 Some pet owners across the US can now take time off work to grieve properly after losing their beloved companions.

如今，部分美国人可以向公司请“失宠假”，去悼念他们死去的宠物了。

At least three national companies have now chosen to offer pet bereavement¹ days to their employees, CBS reported.

据CBS报道，至少有三家美国公司允许员工请假去悼念他们的宠物。

Trupanion, a pet insurance firm, offers its staff one paid day of pet bereavement. Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, the largest chain of boutique hotels in the US, grants them up to three days away from the office.

宠物保险公司“真伴”允许其员工带薪休假一天，来与死去的宠物说再见。美国最大的精品酒店连锁集团“金普顿”则准许员工请三天假。

失宠假

And Maxwell Health, a software company that sells HR management products, encourages employees to take time off whenever they need it - including to mourn the loss of a recently departed pet.

主打人力资源管理产品的麦克斯韦尔健康软件公司的请假规定甚至更为宽松，旗下员工有事便可请假，其中包括了悼念亡宠。

'We allow people to actually do that grieving process and just be able to heal. I think you need closure when you lose a pet, and it's important to have the time to do that,' Dani Kahn, a pet coordinator² at Trupanion, said on CBS.

真伴公司的宠物主管丹尼·坎恩告诉CBS：“我们允许员工花时间悼念死去的宠物，并平复心伤。我认为，当一个人失去了自己的宠物，必定需要一段时间来调整自己，这一点很重要。”

Taking time off work might be necessary so that employees can regain³ a sense of normality and be able to function again, pet loss counselor⁴ Janet Zimmerman told the channel.

“失宠”顾问珍妮特·齐默尔曼也表示，员工的确需要请假来调整自己，之后才能再投入工作。

'I've seen people who can't get out of bed at all. They can't eat, they don't accept phone calls, they are so lost,' Zimmerman added.

她补充道：“我见过许多悲痛欲绝的人，卧床不起，滴水不进，连电话也不接。他们真的伤透了心。”

Erica Lee, a sales team lead at Trupanion, took a day off and stayed with her son after losing her cherished American Staffordshire Terrier, Chief.

艾丽卡·李现为真伴公司的一名销售领队。她就曾请过一天“失宠假”，与儿子一起悼念死去的爱犬，一条名为奇夫的美式史坦福猎犬。

'Being able to stay home with him and grieve with him was invaluable⁵. It was so, so important to me,' she told CBS.

她告诉CBS：“对我而言，能和儿子待在家里一起悼念亡犬，弥足珍贵，意义重大。”

Pet bereavement leave is not required by law and can be allocated⁶ at the employers' discretion⁷.

当然，“失宠假”并不在法定假期之列，如何实施全由雇主决定。

A third of pet owners might need to mourn for six months or longer, a 2009 study suggested.

2009年的一项调查指出，失去了宠物的主人通常需要半年以上时间，才能疗愈心伤。

A team of researchers at the University of Hawaii asked 106 of them to describe how they felt after the death of their pet.

夏威夷大学的一支研究团队采访了106名调查对象，询问他们失去宠物后有何感受。

About 30 percent of them said they had experienced feelings of sadness and grief for at least six months.

其中，有三成对象表示，整整半年他们都感到哀伤。

Only five to 12 percent of the pet owners interviewed during the study said they suffered from major pathological disruption.

而5%到12%的受访人士称，他们深陷悲伤，甚至难以自拔。

 

1 bereavement   

n.亲人丧亡，丧失亲人，丧亲之痛

参考例句：

• the pain of an emotional crisis such as divorce or bereavement 诸如离婚或痛失亲人等情感危机的痛苦
• I sympathize with you in your bereavement. 我对你痛失亲人表示同情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 coordinator   

n.协调人

参考例句：

• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。
• How am I supposed to find the client-relations coordinator? 我怎么才能找到客户关系协调员的办公室？

3 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

4 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

5 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

6 allocated   

adj. 分配的 动词allocate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The Ford Foundation allocated millions of dollars for cancer research. 福特基金会拨款数百万美元用于癌症研究。
• More funds will now be allocated to charitable organizations. 现在会拨更多的资金给慈善组织。

7 discretion   

n.谨慎；随意处理

参考例句：

• You must show discretion in choosing your friend.你择友时必须慎重。
• Please use your best discretion to handle the matter.请慎重处理此事。