Roger Dog and Airport Dog

News Bites

Hi there, It's time for another episode of News Bites.
I'm Nancy Sun.
And I'm Kelly Kimura.
Today's episode proves that every dog has its day, from saving lives, to keeping everyone relaxed and happy!
And in today's Tasty Tidbit…
Did we make you yawn? Same goes for your dog!
So get ready for a barking good time, because all those stories are coming up next.
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「轉職」搜救犬立大功
Playful Pup Finds His Calling
Can you still be a hero if you fail?
Roger proves that you can!
Roger is an 8-year-old Labrador Retriever (拉不拉多).
The dog is part of a search and rescue team with the Kaohsiung Fire Bureau.
After the magnitude 7.2 earthquake earlier this month, Roger was sent to help find missing people.
The quake caused many landslides (土石流).
And Roger and his handler (領犬員) helped find the body of someone who was killed in a landslide in Taroko National Park.
Every life lost in the earthquake was a terrible tragedy.
But with Roger's help, the woman's family could give her a proper burial (葬禮).
Many people praised (誇獎) all the amazing hard work of the rescue teams and dogs.
But Roger wasn't always a search and rescue dog.
In fact, Roger was supposed to be a drug-sniffing dog (緝毒犬).
When he was a puppy, Roger went through special training.
He was supposed to help police find drugs (毒品).
But he was too playful!
Roger活潑又好動的個性，讓他無法專心嗅聞毒品而遭到淘汰。
But fun-loving Roger was perfect for another job…
Search and rescue!
Trainers say Roger has lots of energy.
This helps him keep going on long, hard searches for missing people.
Roger loves people and is friendly with strangers (陌生人).
This means he is happy to look for and find people.
And Roger is smart and independent (獨立).
He can move through new places and search where his handler can't go.
Roger was a very important part of the search and rescue mission at Taroko National Park.
And everyone saw Roger's playful side during an interview (訪問).
While his handler was talking with reporters, Roger tried to grab a microphone with his mouth!
He thought it was a toy, and made everyone laugh.
Roger has been working at the Kaohsiung Fire Bureau for many years now.
But he is now getting close to retirement age (退休的年紀).
When he is 9 years old, he will retire.
And the bureau will find him a loving home.
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伊斯坦堡機場「治療犬」幫旅客舒緩壓力
Canine Crew Calms Passengers at Istanbul Airport
Airports are busy places.
And these places need a lot of workers to make everything run smoothly.
Istanbul Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world.
In fact, the airport served 76 million passengers last year.
So they need a lot of workers.
Recently the airport hired five new workers.
But these workers are a bit different.
They have four legs, lots of fur, and love belly rubs!
Istanbul Airport has hired a "Therapy Dog Team".
These dogs walk around the airport with a human trainer.
And their job is to help travelers relax.
土耳其伊斯坦堡機場的「治療犬」計畫，讓5隻受過訓練的狗狗在機場「上班」，跟旅客互動，幫助大家舒緩壓力。
They go through the airport, and visit people.
People can pet the dogs and play with them.
The dogs are official airport employees.
They have official badges and uniforms.
The uniforms say "Pet Me" on the back!
And the dogs have a set schedule.
The team takes turns to work from 10am to 4pm each day.
To get ready for duty, the team trained for a year.
This is to help them get used to the airport environment, and make sure they stay safe.
And the dogs started working at the airport in February.
Kuki, a grey dog with curly fur, is the team leader.
He works hard, but also likes to take breaks.
And Alita is also on the team.
She's a border collie (邊境牧羊犬), and she's very good at helping people calm down.
The team also has a veterinarian (獸醫) to take care of them.
Many visitors have said they really enjoyed meeting the dogs.
The airport already has plans to expand the team.
伊斯坦堡機場已經計畫將「狗狗員工」增加到10隻。
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So, in today's News Bites:
Roger the search and rescue dog helped find missing people after a major earthquake in Taiwan this month.
Roger actually failed training to be a drug-sniffing dog.
But he is perfect for search and rescue work, and is now a hero.
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And,
Istanbul Airport has hired a "Therapy Dog Team".
These dogs walk around the airport with a human trainer, and help travelers relax.
Many visitors have said they really enjoyed meeting the dogs.
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趣味小點
Tasty Tidbit
And now for today's Tasty Tidbit…
(yawn)…Hey, pass it on!
We all know that seeing another person yawn can make us want to yawn too. It's like it's contagious (會傳染). But did you know that happens to dogs too?
Studies show that seeing or hearing another yawn can make dogs yawn too. This happens even if they see humans yawn, and especially if that human is their owner!
And that's today's episode of News Bites!
If you have a fun fact or a joke you'd like to share with us, record your message and send us your Tasty Tidbit to [e-mail], and you might hear it at the end of an episode!
We'll see you next time for an exciting new episode of News Bites!