Some pet owners across the US can now take time off work to grieve properly after losing their beloved companions.
如今，部分美國人可以向公司請“失寵假”，去悼念他們死去的寵物了。

At least three national companies have now chosen to offer pet bereavement days to their employees, CBS reported.
據CBS報道，至少有三家美國公司允許員工請假去悼念他們的寵物。

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.
寵物保險公司“真伴”允許其員工帶薪休假一天，來與死去的寵物說再見。美國最大的精品酒店連鎖集團“金普頓”則準許員工請三天假。

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.
主打人力資源管理產品的麥克斯韋爾健康軟件公司的請假規定甚至更為寬松，旗下員工有事便可請假，其中包括了悼念亡寵。

'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 coordinator at Trupanion, said on CBS.
真伴公司的寵物主管丹尼·坎恩告訴CBS：“我們允許員工花時間悼念死去的寵物，并平復心傷。我認為，當一個人失去了自己的寵物，必定需要一段時間來調整自己，這一點很重要。”

Taking time off work might be necessary so that employees can regain a sense of normality and be able to function again, pet loss counselor Janet Zimmerman told the channel.
“失寵”顧問珍妮特·齊默爾曼也表示，員工的確需要請假來調整自己，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.
她補充道：“我見過許多悲痛欲絕的人，臥床不起，滴水不進，連電話也不接。他們真的傷透了心。”

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.
艾麗卡·李現為真伴公司的一名銷售領隊。她就曾請過一天“失寵假”，與兒子一起悼念死去的愛犬，一條名為奇夫的美式史坦福獵犬。

'Being able to stay home with him and grieve with him was invaluable. It was so, so important to me,' she told CBS.
她告訴CBS：“對我而言，能和兒子待在家里一起悼念亡犬，彌足珍貴，意義重大。”

Pet bereavement leave is not required by law and can be allocated at the employers' discretion.
當然，“失寵假”并不在法定假期之列，如何實施全由雇主決定。

A third of pet owners might need to mourn for six months or longer, a 2009 study suggested.
2009年的一項調查指出，失去了寵物的主人通常需要半年以上時間，才能療愈心傷。

A team of researchers at the University of Hawaii asked 106 of them to describe how they felt after the death of their pet.
夏威夷大學的一支研究團隊采訪了106名調查對象，詢問他們失去寵物后有何感受。

About 30 percent of them said they had experienced feelings of sadness and grief for at least six months.
其中，有三成對象表示，整整半年他們都感到哀傷。

Only five to 12 percent of the pet owners interviewed during the study said they suffered from major pathological disruption.
而5%到12%的受訪人士稱，他們深陷悲傷，甚至難以自拔。

英文來源：每日郵報
譯者：郭汪韜略（中國日報網愛新聞iNews譯者）
審校&編輯：丹妮