To Kill a Mocking Bird Ch. 10 &11

In chapter 10 there was a wild dog running around town and Jem and Scout learn that Atticus was actually a really good shooter growing up because he had to shoot the diseased dog. Scout and Jem were wondering why Atticus couldn't do things other parents could like play football and hunt and why he was way older. It was weird to me that Atticus was older because I didn't picture him to be in his 50's having 2 young kids. In chapter 11 we are introduced to mrs. Dubose who is a sick elderly women that lived down the street and was very mean towards Jem and Scout as they walked by. Jem did something about it and got punished which is dumb because even though Mrs. Dubose was sick she brought it onto herself because she was addicted to drugs...it confused me also how Atticus was so sympathetic towards her when she always called him a Ni**er lover and that he was a bad person.