No, he said he "had mercy on her soul". I wanted people here to fill in the blank. Some of my thoughts were:

1. It was such a long shot, he didn't think it was ethical to take it;
2. He was afraid he'd come down with Slickhead's Syndrome;
3. Didn't think his truck could make it through the fence; or
4. He spent too much time thinking about spooning with it and then it was gone.