“I ought to of shot that dog myself, George. I shouldn’t ought to of let no stranger shoot my dog.” I believe that Candy’s old dog shifted the focus away from Candy’s age as the dog was in such a bad form compared to Candy, before the death of his beloved companion, he was just known as Candy; the man with the smelly old dog. Without his dog, he is just poor, old Candy. I know this as in the second chapter of the novella, Candy is described as a ‘Tall, stoop shouldered