If Karma wanted revenge on the dogs who killed her brother, why did she nurse the injured dog back to health and kept him as a pet?
In Chapter Fifteen, Karana smokes the dogs out of the cave abd hits the leader in his chest with her first arrow. She uses her remaining four arrows to kill three more dogs. But by the time she is ready to finish off the gray dog, he is gone.
Karana follows the trail of his blood, and eventually finds him on the ground, nearly dead. For some reason, she cannot bring herself to kill him, so she brings him back her house and treats his wound. As the days pass, she feeds him fresh water and fish. Although she still considers him her enemy, she gradually grows attached to him.
One day, she finds him gone, and realizes that she actually considers him a friend. She is happy to discover that he is only sleeping, not gone, and she names him Rontu, which means Fox Eyes.
http://www.gradesaver.com/island-of-the-blue-dolphins/study-guide/summary-chapters-14-18
