@lisastewart:
but gives a nice happy ending to the original.
Ah, the "Hollywood ending". Yeah, makes everyone happy, but the sad ones are the ones that stay with you. I will never forgive Disney for screwing up "Ol Yeller". The whole point in the book is that Travis doesn't know for sure the dog will get rabies. He must make the decision that marks his transition into manhood (as Skeeter does in "Goodbye my Lady"). In the movie, the dog is obviously rabid and would die anyway. It is a kindness to shoot him. Why, oh why, does Hollywood insist on messing up excellent stories?