First Part of Part 3: Candy's Dog's Death

In the first part of part 3, Candy, the swamper, lost one of his most valuable companions, his dog. Carlson came into the bunkhouse late in the day and complained immediately of the old dog's terrible stench. He claimed that the dog was doing itself no good to be alive as he couldn't see, walked limply, couldn't eat regular food, an suffered pain every second of his life, and should be put to death. Despite of the dog's old age, Candy clearly still had a strong emotional connection with him. This was demonstrated when "The old man squirmed uncomfortably[, and said,] 'Well-hell! I had him so long. Had him since he was a pup. I herded sheep with him. You wouldn't think it to look at him now, but he was the best damn sheep dog I ever seen. (44)'" This obviously shows that he takes pride in his dog and that he wants to keep him safe and ALIVE. Unfortunately, Carlson repeatedly attempts to convince Candy to kill the dog. He says that it causes so many problems to not only everyone on the ranch, but even to itself. Of course, Candy tried to defend his dog, and said "'No, I couldn' do that. I had 'im too long, (45)' or 'Maybe it'd hurt him. I don't mind takin' care of him. (45)'" But after Slim even agreed that it was best to end the dog's torture and shoot him, Candy succumbed. After a long period of awkward quietness, Carlson finally put the dog to rest with his luger, a type of pistol. But was it the right decision? How will Candy feel now that he has lost his companion? What made his dog so special to him? Will we learn more about Candy, and what will he do in the second section of part 3?