Incidents of dog attacks on U.S. Postal Service employees rose to more than 5,800 last year. As part of its 2024 National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign, the U.S. Postal Service is offering crucial information on how dog owners can be good stewards for safe mail delivery and ensure the safety of postal staff.
The theme of the campaign, which began yesterday and runs through Sunday, is “Don’t let your dog bite the hand that serves you.”
“Letter carriers are exposed to potential hazards every day, none more prevalent than a canine encounter. All it takes is one interaction for a letter carrier to possibly suffer an injury,” said Leeann Theriault, U.S. Postal Service manager, Employee Safety and Health Awareness. “The U.S. Postal Service consistently encourages responsible pet ownership. The national dog bite campaign is an effort to promote dog bite awareness to keep our customers, their dogs, and letter carriers safe while delivering the mail.”
Following are the top 10 cities by reported number of dog attacks on mail carriers in 2023.
| City | State | 2023 |
| Los Angeles | California | 65 |
| Houston | Texas | 56 |
| Chicago | Illinois | 48 |
| St Louis | Missouri | 46 |
| Cleveland | Ohio | 44 |
| San Diego | California | 41 |
| Dallas | Texas | 39 |
| Cincinnati | Ohio | 38 |
| Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | 34 |
| Columbus | Ohio | 33 |
Following are the top 10 states by reported number of dog bites on mail carriers in 2023:
| State | 2023 | 2022 |
| California | 727 | 675 |
| Texas | 411 | 404 |
| Ohio | 359 | 311 |
| Pennsylvania | 334 | 313 |
| Illinois | 316 | 245 |
| New York | 296 | 321 |
| Florida | 193 | 220 |
| North Carolina | 185 | 146 |
| Michigan | 183 | 206 |
| Missouri | 180 | 166 |
Source: United States Postal Service
Letter carriers know all dogs can bite, even those seen as non-aggressive, the U.S. Postal Service said in a press release. Dogs are generally protective of their turf and owners have an important responsibility to control them to ensure safe mail delivery, it said.
“Even though a customer’s dog is friendly to most people, it can always have a bad day,” said letter carrier Tara Snyder. “I know, from experience, even when a dog is in the house, customers need to make sure their door is secure so their dog can’t push it open and bite the letter carrier.”
Most people know the approximate time their letter carrier arrives every day. Securing their dog before the carrier approaches the property would minimize any potentially dangerous interactions, the Postal Service said. It advised that when a letter carrier comes home, dogs must be kept:
- Inside the house or behind a fence;
- Away from the door or in another room; or
- On a leash.
The Postal Service also said pet owners should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child.
By using Informed Delivery, a free USPS service, customers can also digitally preview incoming mail and packages from a computer, tablet, or mobile device, the agency said in the release. More than 52 million customers have enrolled since the service was launched in 2017. Sign up is at informeddelivery.usps.com.
According to the most recent information available from the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost per insurance claim for a dog bite is $64,555. When a postal employee suffers an injury, the owner could be responsible for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs, and pain and suffering for the employee.
Letter carriers are trained to observe an area where they know dogs may be present, the agency said. They are taught to be alert for potentially dangerous conditions and to respect a dog’s territory.
Letter carriers are trained to:
- Make a non-threatening noise or rattle a fence to alert a dog if entering a yard;
- Never startle a dog;
- Keep their eyes on any dog;
- Never assume a dog will not bite;
- Never attempt to pet or feed a dog; and
- Place their foot against an outward swinging door to prevent a dog from escaping.
If a dog attacks, carriers are also trained to stand their ground and protect their body by placing something between them and the dog — such as a mail satchel — and to use dog repellent, if necessary.
Letter carriers have tools to alert them to dogs on their routes. A dog alert feature on carriers’ handheld scanners can remind them of a possible dog hazard, and dog warning cards must be used during mail sorting to alert carriers to addresses where a dog may interfere with delivery.
Source: PR Newswire
