And who could withstand a whole city full of puppy eyes? -- all pitiful, all accusing, all woeful as shit?

A frog? Who would fail to save a little girl who loves and cares for a pet frog??

And how could you know the rules in advance, anyway? [ Even if that's the natural state of life and death -- that we never know the rules in advance. It's still not fair. ] And what happened after that? It sounds as though the job always remained problematic for you?