I think it was more of the animal helplessness for me. If it was a creeper or zombie up there I wouldn't have had much of a reaction (except of course that it's taking up valuable real estate in town
) ... even though they look much more like humans and a possible lynch. But a dog or cat and I would've taken it down immediately. Go figure.
I made a comment to Drew in-game that it wasn't quite as bad as T's Animal Auschwitz, so I guess you see where my sympathy lies.
It's just a game, of course, but that doesn't mean that seeing the animals doing something funny or unexpected hasn't endeared their little blocky selves to me somewhat.