导读：1942年，当加拿大犬业协会正式承认它是一种犬种的时候，它都快要绝迹了。
对应考题：2010.01.15北美托福阅读题
Tahltan Bear Dog 塔尔兰熊犬
Tahltan bear dogs became extinct after white settlers brought new dogs to America.
One of man’s best friends is extinct. Though it was not a species but a breed, the extinction of the bear dog comes as a big blow. The Tahltan bear dog was a canine companion to the American Indians in what is now Northern Canada before the arrival of European settlers. The dogs descended from those that crossed the land bridge to the Americas with people long ago. They were a huge part of native life; trained to stalk and hunt bears, Tahltans were fearless animals when at work, but they were loving companions otherwise. Reports indicate the bear dogs lived inside home structures with their human owners.
A bear dog’s defining characteristic was its tail, which was held upright with outward splaying fur. The dogs had thick, hard coats and were very intelligent. They were ritually bled before being led into the woods to hunt bears. When they found a bear, they would distract it long enough for the human hunters to find it and finish the kill. Tahltan bear dogs gradually became less common as white settlers brought other breeds of dog to the new world. Eventually, no pure Tahltans existed. But they will be missed.
中文背景：
在今天的不列颠哥伦比亚西北地区，哈雷人（Hare）、塔尔兰人（TahlTan），或者是特里吉特人（Tlingit）养着一种塔尔兰熊犬（TahlTanBearDog），和如今的纯种狗尤为相似。听名字，它像是一种大型狗，其实它体型很小，毛色黑白相间，耳朵尖尖的，毛茸茸的尾巴弯曲至后背或臀部，脚上有很多毛，为的是适应在雪地里奔跑。曾被早期的观察家称为“镇定自若，带着点害羞”。无论害羞与否，它都是非常争强好胜的，体型虽然像一只狐狸猎犬，却能够在海边抓住几只熊不放，直到它的印第安主人过来把它们杀死。直到1900年，0.44口径的来复枪问世，它就不再跟着打猎了。1942年，当加拿大犬业协会正式承认它是一种犬种的时候，它都快要绝迹了。
