WASHINGTON — Next week is National Dog Bite Prevention Week, and in conjunction, the U.S. Postal Service has put out its annual report on mail carrier dog attacks. The numbers show a decline in 2017, and technology could be helping.
The number of postal employees attacked by dogs nationwide last year was 6,244, more than 500 fewer than 2016.
“The totals are still too high, but we’re confident that with continuing education and dog-bite prevention training, along with advancing technology, we can keep more people safe and keep attacks trending downward,” said USPS Safety Director Linda DeCarlo.
Mail carriers can now, in some cases, be alerted ahead of time of the possibility of a dog encounter.
The Package Pickup app on USPS.com asks customers to indicate whether there are dogs at their addresses when they schedule package pickups. Carriers see that information on their delivery scanners, which also send alerts if an unleashed dog is reported in a delivery area.
DeCarlo said that kind of information is particularly helpful for substitute carriers who fill in for regular carriers on their days off.
If mail carriers feel threatened by a dog, or if a dog is loose or unleashed, the owner may be asked to pick up mail at a Post Office until the carrier is assured the pet has been restrained, and if a dog is roaming a neighborhood, the pet owner’s neighbors may also be told to pick up their mail at an area Post Office.
Baltimore ranks No. 6 on the Postal Service’s top 10 cities for dog attacks on postal employees in 2017, with 44 reported cases, up from 36 in 2016.
The top five cities for dog attacks on Postal Service employees are Houston, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cleveland and San Diego.
American Humane estimates more than 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year with 800,000 seeking medical attention; more than half are children.
