I know dogs are intelligent and all but how does something like this happen?

This is for a writing contest...

Rick was a simple hunter. He lived alone in a log cabin with his hunting dog Rex. Every morning Rick and Rex would always go out to hunt for food seeing how his refrigerator was starting to run low on food. But little did Rex know that this was not going to be a normal hunt. He let Rex run through some tall grass to flush out geese and other birds so he could shoot them when they lift off. Since the game warden did not come out this far he literally shot everything that was big enough to be eaten. But after missing the first two rounds of birds that came out of the tall weeds something told him to call Rex back and move farther across the small natural clearing. It was unusually for him to go beyond his normal hunting ground. He had just made it to the trees on the other side when he saw a small cabin out of the corner of his eye. He had never noticed that cabin before. He also wondered who else would be brave enough to move out this far. But a strange feeling came over him when he looked at this small house. This feeling was a mix of fear and curiosity. He started a small stride that eventually became a jog after curiosity overtook fear. Rex followed right behind him with his golden tail bobbing behind him. When Rick finally got to the front porch he could plainly see that there was someone home. He raised his hand to knock and then took it back down. He started thinking of what kind of person this might be. He also thought about if this person was dangerous or not. But eventually curiosity chased those thoughts from his mind as he rose his hand up and knocked four times.
He stood like he was rooted to the spot for about thirty seconds until someone finally opened the door. He was not excepting this kind of person to answer the door. He especially didn't expect a small, frail, old lady with small beads in his hair. He laughed at himself inside of his mind for being so scared. Then she asked "what do you want?" in a voice that sounded like if yelled loud enough you could crack a wine glass. Rick told her what he was up to. From just standing at the door he could tell there was a lot of candles burning on the inside. He could also see a bed, a few paintings, two chairs, a compact refrigerator, a microwave, and at least fifty lit candles. She asked him if he would like to come inside. He accepted with hesitation. He walked inside of the dim room. They're shadows danced on the walls as the candles flickered.. Then all of a sudden the fear was back. This time it was not mixed with anything. It engulfed his whole body like a wave engulfs a small boat during a storm. Then the frail face of the old lady was gone and what replaced it almost made Rick throw up. A boney, sunken-in, paper white face stared at him from across the room. Rick grabbed his shotgun and pointed it towards her. She said that if he killed her that she would take away the thing most precious to him. Rick was to engulfed in terror to think of a precious thing. She told him not to worry and that she would grant him three wishes if he did not pull the trigger. He knew she was trying to get out of being shot and besides he did not believe in wishes or magic. But just to humor the witch he wished for three things. A new shotgun, more deer in the area, and a refrigerator filled to the top in deer meat. She granted all three and then told him to get out. He then told her that if all three did not come true he would come back and blow her away. She responded by saying that he had to bring her one of the hooves from one of the deer he kills. If he did not he would have the thing he loves the most taken from him. He was now with his back pressed up against the door with the gun pointed at her. Before he left he asked her her name. She told him Mary Blackwell. As soon as he heard this last bit of info he ran out the door behind him. He ran all the way back to his house with Rex two feet behind him. As soon as he came in he kicked off his boots and fell on his bed. He went to sleep almost immediately.
The next day a package was in front of his makeshift mail box. He picked it up and tore into it. It was a brand new double-barrel shotgun. He yelled "woo hoo!!" so loud Rex woke up and started barking. He ran in and got dressed immediately. It had even came with ten slug shots. He loaded two into the two barrels and put the rest in his shirt pocket. He ran out with Rex at his heels. When he got to the woods he stared in amazement at the sight before him. At least ten bucks were standing all close together in the woods. The only thing that ruined Rick's shot was when Rex barked a far off noise. When he barked it threw off his aim and he shot into the air. Luckily, he had another shot but the deer were already gone. He slapped Rex in the back of the head and told him that he was a bad dog for making him miss such a good shot. He thought back to yesterday and remembered the witch. He had already counted two of the wishes coming true. Then he remembered the third. He ran back to his house. His heart was beating like a drum as he walked inside ran to the kitchen. As he came in he noticed a small light blue box next to the fridge. He walked over to the box and open the small door on the front. It was filled with meat. Filled to the top with frozen, thick, delicious looking steaks. He did not care if was deer or not he was just happy he had a lot of food now. As soon as he jumped up to cheer he remembered his promise to the witch. He grabbed his gun and ran outside. Rex hap to practically use all of his doggy energy to keep up with his master. Rick saw a deer in the woods. He did not stop running he just aimed and fired. The slug caught him in the two back legs. The buck tried to crawl but Rick's second slug pegged him in the chest which stopped its heart instantly. Rick ran over, pulled out his knife, and cut off the hoof of the buck. He told himself he would come back for body later. Then Rick thought that he had better go back to the house for more ammo. He returned to his cabin and placed the bloody hoof on the small table in his den. After five minutes of searching for his lost shells he finally found them on his bed stand. As he ran out the door he forgot the hoof. He ran all the way until his lungs felt like they had been cut open. He saw the witch's cabin up ahead and started sprinting again even though his lungs were on fire. Rex had given up chase and was only trotting a good twenty feet behind him. He ran up on to the front porch and knocked on the door. The witch answered the door but in her old lady disguise. He told her that he had the hoof of the deer. He checked all of his pockets for the hoof. He looked at her and said, "I had it like twenty minutes ago." She only looked at him and told him that he was told to bring the hoof to her. He told her again that he just had it. She told him that excuse was enough. She turned away and said now you will suffer the consequences. The door slammed shut behind her without her even touching it. Rick was mad now. He kicked in the door and yelled out her name. She was not there. He walked around calling her name and telling her hiding was useless. He eventually gave up and walked out of the house. He figured if he could just get the hoof to her in the morning everything would be ok. It was starting to get around to night time. He figured a little more hunting wouldn't hurt and so he called Rex over to him. Rex was over at a tall oak tree doing his business. They went back to the clearing and he told Rex to flush the birds out. Rex walked slowly into those tall weeds and literally disappeared. While Rex was out flushing the birds he saw a monster buck the tall grass too. He just seen the head though so he knew it was huge. He loaded a slug into his gun and fired in the buck's direction. It fell over and Rick's ears were greeted by the sound of a big thump. He ran into the grass and found the body. But the image that met Rick's eyes were horrible. Instead of killing a monster buck he had shot his best friend. Rex was laying on the ground with blood pouring out of the gaping hole where the slug left. Rex was killed instantly by the shot because it took his heart right out of his body. Rick felt tears forming in his eyes. He knew that he should have double checked to see if he had the hoof. Now his whole world was falling apart. He pointed the gun in the direction of the witch's cabin and pulled the trigger. But all of a sudden termites started swarming out of the wooden stock. He threw the gun way into the grass. Now tears were pouring from his eyes as he picked up Rex's limp body. He carried it all the way to his house. As he went he seen more and more deer bodies as he went. The deer were dying. They were dying because he forgot the hoof at his house. His shotgun broke because of the hoof. His best friend died because of the stupid hoof. His shirt was covered in blood by the time he got home. The tears were still coming but just not as fast. It took him two hours to dig a small grave and place his friend in it and cover him back up. A small cross on the mound. He walked inside and was met with a rank odor. He walked to the kitchen to find that all of the meat had been strewn around the floor and maggots were all in it. He just walked over to his bed and cried himself to sleep.
The next morning he got up and the first thing he did was grab his old shotgun. He loaded it and walked outside. He ran all the way to the witch's cabin. His eyes met a strange sight as the house came into viewing range. A small white pick-up truck was parked outside. He ran to the house with all his might. He ran up to the pick-up and found the owner was still in the truck. The man rolled down the window and told him howdy. Rick asked the man if a woman named Mary Blackwell was in there. The man looked at Rick like he was a crazy man. He gave hearty laugh and said, "You have to be joking boy Mary Blackwell was a famous witch that was killed over a hundred years ago in this very cabin. Why do you ask?" All of the color went out of Rick's face as he heard this bit of information. He told the man goodbye and slowly started walking back to his house. This was not a normal walk. There were turtles practically passing him up. When he got back it was nighttime but he did not care. He had one final thing to do before going to bed.
The next morning the man that was in the white pick-up found Rick hanging from his ceiling from a cord that was rapped around his neck. Rick had committed suicide for only one reason. Because he lost everything that ever meant anything to him. His best friend Rex was gone and his life is gone to. The man said he found Rick hanging there while his hand was tightly gripping a cut up deer hoof. If only he hadn't forgotten the hoof. THE END