4
Maybe it was a bit over the top.
But what I see is someone being worried about a dog having killed someone else’s property, getting a taste for it, and then lashing out at her in the process.
My dad would approve. Their backwoods Maine huge family loved their dogs, small hunting dogs, but had no sentimental illusions about them. Very practical.
Sure, you might say they could turn it over to the pound or otherwise try to pawn off the dog on someone else. But that wasn’t the mindset so much. And frankly, I’m tired of people strictly judging others by their strict milquetoast view of everything these days.