Her singing this song makes about as much sense as a dude singing “I Am Woman”.
I wouldn't be surprised if a male covered that song today. And he'd probably win a Grammy for doing so.
Anyway, this is another song that reminds of of growing up. I was about 8 or 9 years old when Joan's version became a Top 40 hit. A few years later, I had a dog named Dixie and she got old and had to be put down. So now the song reminds me of putting my dog Dixie down.
And I agree, it makes no sense at all, lyrically, for a woman to cover this song but it was a smash hit for Joan nonetheless. I don't think most people paid attention to the lyrics.