In Chapter 10, Atticus shoots a rabid dog. What impact does this event have on how Atticus is viewed both by the reader and by the other characters?

Scout and Jem come to see their father as a hero. Scout wants to tell everyone in school about the inciddent, but Jem tells her not to. Jem explains that he wouldn't care if Atticus "couldn't do a blessed thing," because Atticus is a gentleman.