I think answer choice A is correct
They’re both lonely and ‘old’. He sympathizes with his dog which makes it harder for the men to kill his dog
<span />I think it's Syncopation.
Charles Dickens takes his time leading the reader through a number of ironies in Stave 4. Even before we get to Old Joe's shop, Scrooge and the spirit come in contact with "men of business: very wealthy, and of great importance."