The fourth door on the right happened to be open, but was blocked by a dog of the kind that attacks.  He announced his appointment through the doorway, and the dog attacked that too with a vicious growl.  Alta!, a voice rang out.  And just like that, that mauler transformed into a submissive puppy, dropping to, and wrapping itself around, his feet.  He knelt only to acknowledge the dog with a pat, but minutes must have passed before he sensed hovering over him the lawyer he had come to check out.  I’ve been watching you, she said.  If so, she must have then been watching him pet a dog in desperate need of it.  He rose to apologize and, rather than follow her into her office, stole off down the hall, fearful all at once of a door that had been open where others weren’t.