A state-by-state ranking of dog bites suffered by mail providers lists Connecticut in the middle, with the 2nd most occurrences amongst New England states.
Last year, dogs assaulted about 5,300 U.S. Postal Service staff members, a small drop from 5,400 occurrences the year prior to. Connecticut and Maryland connected at 27th location in the 2022 rankings, with an overall of 67 occurrences in each state. Waterbury had the most occurrences amongst Connecticut’s neighborhoods, with 9, followed by Bridgeport and New Haven with 5 each and Danbury with 4, according to the U.S. Postal Service.
California was the worst state for dog bites, with 675; Alaska was the most safe at an overall of 8 occurrences. In New England, just Massachusetts had actually more reported dog bites than Connecticut, at an overall of 93, putting the Bay State at No. 17 in the across the country rankings.
Cartoonists and funny authors have actually long highlighted the enmity in between mail providers and dogs, however the issue is major, Postal Service leaders said in a press release marking National Dog Bite Awareness Week, which goes through Saturday. The style this year is, “Even good dogs have bad days.”
“When our mail carriers are bitten, it is usually a ‘good dog’ that had not previously behaved in a menacing way,” USPS Occupational Safety and Health Senior Director Linda DeCarlo said. “In 2022, too many aggressive dogs impacted the lives of our employees while delivering the mail. Please help us reduce that number by being a responsible pet owner who secures their dog as we deliver the mail.”
The Postal Service advises dog owners to include dogs inside or behind a fence.
“Most individuals understand the approximate time their letter provider gets here every day,” the press release says. “Securing your dog prior to the provider approaches your property will decrease any possibly unsafe interactions.”
Mail providers are trained to handle aggressive dogs and might spray the animals with chemical repellant if needed. In some cases, mail service might be stopped.
Dog bites position a major health danger to the larger population, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Dogs bite more than 4.5 million individuals each year in the U.S., and more than 800,000 receive medical attention, the association reported, pointing out federal government information. At least half of victims are kids, who are most likely to suffer extreme injuries.
“Any dog can bite: huge or little, male or female, young or old,” according to the AMVA. “Even the cuddliest, fuzziest, sweetest animal can bite if provoked. Remember, it is not a dog’s breed that identifies whether it will bite, however rather the dog’s specific history and habits.”
The insurer State Farm says a bulk of states hold owners responsible if a dog triggers injury. State Farm alone paid over $210 million for 3,285 dog bite injury declares in 2015, the business reported.
