“National Dog Bite Awareness Week”
US Postal Service publishes ranking of dog bites in delivery areas
In the USA and in Germany, postmen learn in training how to protect themselves from dog attacks
© Stefan Sauer / Picture Alliance
The US Postal Service, the USPS, counts exactly where and how often its mail carriers are bitten by dogs every year. With the campaign, Swiss Post wants to draw attention to the fact that dogs are often dangerous to postmen – and is issuing behavioral tips for dog owners.
A dog’s best friend is: the postman? At least that’s the impression you might get if you believe the numerous cute videos on social media showing dogs waiting for the postman at the same time every morning to greet him happily and dust off some treats. However, not all encounters between postmen and dogs look so harmonious, because some four-legged friends behave aggressively towards the messenger and bite. Last year, a 61-year-old postwoman in Florida was attacked by five dogs so badly that she died from the bites.
In an annual ranking, the United States Postal Service (USPS) shows in which states their postmen are bitten by dogs particularly often. In the ranking for 2022, California is ahead with 675 dog bites, followed by Texas and New York. Among cities, Houston tops the ranking with 57 bites, followed by Los Angeles and Dallas. In total, more than 5,300 employees were bitten by dogs last year, which is a decrease compared to the previous year.
USPS trains mail carriers on dog behavior
The count is part of National Dog Bite Awareness Week, an annual campaign the USPS uses to raise awareness of the problem. The Postal Service’s website says many of the attacks on mail carriers come from dogs whose owners have repeatedly assured their dog would never bite. Therefore, the USPS asks dog owners with behavioral tips for help when visiting the postman: According to this, dog owners should leash their animals if they noticed the postman’s arrival in time or ensure that they are in the house or apartment as far away from the front door as possible are located, preferably in another room. Parents should also make sure that children do not accept the mail in front of the dog, as the animal could perceive the postman as a threat to the child. If an off-leash or obtrusive dog makes delivery difficult, customers would have to expect to have to collect their mail from a post office themselves for security reasons.
The USPS also conducts training to educate employees on how to behave around dogs, such as not petting or feeding them and using their mail bags as protection in the event of an attack. They would also be advised to try not to frighten the animals unnecessarily at the post office and to make themselves noticed in good time.
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Deutsche Post has also been offering such training for its employees for a long time. A report from last year states that, according to statistics, around 1,000 postmen nationwide are bitten by dogs every year. With dog trainers and dogs, they are therefore taught to correctly interpret the behavior of the animals and how they could behave in an emergency in the event of an attack.
Sources: CNN, USPS I USPS II German postal service