The dog had rabies. It was sick, going to die anyway, and was dangerous. If it bit a human, which it would have done if any human had gotten too close to it, that would mean certain death for the human. Even today tens of thousands of people still die of rabies every year, mostly in poor and underdeveloped countries. In more developed countries like the US, treatment and prevention is now affordable and easily available and a lot of progress has been made toward reducing the risk of rabies to humans. Dogs, one of the principal carriers for rabies, are now widely vaccinated against it, although it continues to be common among wild animals including bats and raccoons. But this movie is set in a rural area of the deep south of the US (which even today has a level of economic development and living standards comparable with Central America and sub-Saharan Africa) during the Depression in the 1930s. Treatment for rabies was likely unaffordable or unavailable. All this is why they had to shoot the dog. There wasn't a choice in the matter; the dog was a public health hazard. Besides, even putting aside the risk it posed to humans and to other animals, the dog itself had to be put out of its misery.
You should watch the movie "Cujo".
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