We'll save the death penalty argument for another day haha. I made a thread on it a while ago and I still haven't made my mind up.
I think a human's life is far more important than that of a dog personally. I'm going to stick with my opinion so there's no point trying to change my mind. Does that mean you think the life of a rat/pigeon/worm/ant is as important as a human's? Obviously it's sad when a dog dies, but I find it much worse when humans die. Same with charities, I'd much rather donate to a charity helping humans rather than the animal cruelty ones. But maybe that's just me.