I'd hinted in the past about Dot's tail scar and Helga's missing eye being old war wounds but finally felt like making a little thing about it explicitly
Yeah, it's a well done picture, and the angle works really well as a solo piece, but it was probably the right choice to cut it for purpose of storytelling. Having the focus on Dot staring straight at the "camera" makes it a whole lot more intense, a swap of angles loses that intensity.