Standing by and watching life works for many of us, but sometimes we need people who are doers.
I guess you can be considered a “doer” even if you do something incredible stupid.
What he should have been was a “thinker” before doing. Like maybe he should have thought of his wife-to-be and his children, before getting himself killed for a dumb dog.
I'm sure they'll be comforted by your assessment of him as stupid. He took a risk he thought he'd get away with and something went wrong. It was an accident, happens every day, for causes a lot less defendable than a dog... People die in car wrecks just trying to go to jobs they hate. It's a risky world out there... what's amazing is how often we survive it :~D