Using a tool when it's called for doesn't mean you have a "love affair" with that tool.

If the guy decided to start carrying a ball peen hammer with him and kill the chasing dog with that, would he have a "love affair" with ball peen hammers?

A gun is a tool, and honestly, the guy IS in danger of serious injury or even death. People HAVE been killed by packs of dogs in suburban and rural America. I do not fault him for doing what he feels he must to protect himself, especially since he's gone to both the individual and the authorities, spent considerable time trying to resolve this in other ways, and has gotten little help.