Saw a very nasty man being cruel to his very old deaf dog, and when I moved to intervene, he gave me a rasher of ****. Instead of relating the whole story, the quote seemed to do the job, and sum up my feeling re. the owner.
That speaks to a good heart for you. My dog is in her declining years and isn't deaf, but I was always the guy who picked up the fallen robin. Google that Leonard Cohen song re the Chelsea Hotel.