He had a lot of dogs already, what difference would one more make? How many dogs....dead, live, and maimed did they recover from his place. That's how many chances he had to love even one dog. He failed. One more dog will not change that.
“One more dog will not change that”
It very likely could. People every day deeply regret their terrible behavior at work, in marriages, in friendships, in war, etc. Many many of those people take wonderful advantage of another chance at something they’ve failed at.
I always find it odd when someone stubbornly refuses to accept someones clear attempt at righting a serious wrong in their life.