Grandma or the Dog? The Dog Wins

I decided to wait until after class this time to write about the piece I picked (even though we should before). The reason being that I really could not choose between the two. I choose "Stoplestad" to discuss in class probably because the dog. But as we talked about the piece in class I started to see why else I loved the piece.

First off, because of the 2nd person point of view. That pulled me in and put me into the position of the officer but also kept me at a distance. I felt like I was the one who shot the dog. And when the father told the officer that the dog was still alive after being shot, I felt like I was punched in the stomach.And again during the verbal attack/threat on the officer, I felt I was the who was being threatened.
There was a good point brought up by our group; it was the abuse of the boy by the father. The father didn't quite treat the son as a loving father would.  Like pushing the boy around, exposing the boy to killing the dog or teaching him about killing it the "right" way.
As mentioned in class, the verbal attack from the father on the officer was a lot stronger than any physical attack, especially in the second person point of view. 
Another reason why I love this piece is the element of sadness and sympathy teh reader feels for the dog. Maybe this was just for me because I'm an animal lover.