As a mailman I got to know many a dog.There were a couple of Dobermans, for example, which camped out behind the door with the mail slot. With my first footfall on their property they would go into a snarling frenzy, sticking their narrow snouts out the slot while snapping their teeth like investment bankers anticipating a government handout. Holding the mail gingerly from one end, I’d feed it to the canines one piece at a time. Just audible among the snorts and growls, I could hear the day’s mail being torn to shreds.