TEXAS – The National Dog Bite Awareness Week starts Sunday with Texas ranking 2nd on the nationwide list of dog attacks.
Texas has an overall of 404 overall dog attack occurrences and 3 Texas cities remain in the Top 9 – with Houston at #1 with 57 occurrences, Dallas at #3 with 44 occurrences, and San Antonio at #9 with 32 occurrences in 2022.
More than 5,300 Postal Service staff members across the country were assaulted by dogs when providing mail in 2015.
Aggressive dog habits is a typical safety issue for postal service employees so the organization is offering a civil service campaign to offer details for dog owners.
The campaign runs Sunday, June 4, through Saturday, June 10 and this year’s style is “Even good dogs have bad days.”
“When letter carriers deliver mail in our communities, dogs that are not secured or leashed can become a nemesis and unpredictable and attack,” said Leeann Theriault, USPS worker safety and health awareness supervisor. “Help us deliver your mail safely by keeping your dog secure and out of the way before your carrier arrives.”
Mail providers understand all dogs can bite, even those viewed as nonaggressive. Dogs are normally protective of their area and dog owners have an essential obligation to manage them to make sure safe mail shipment.
Most individuals understand the approximate time their letter provider gets here every day, so protecting your dog prior to the provider approaches your property will lessen any possibly unsafe interactions.
When a letter provider concerns your home, keep dogs:
- Inside your house or behind a fence;
- Away from the door or in another room; or
- On a leash
Pet owners likewise must advise kids not to take mail straight from a letter provider as the dog might see the provider as a hazard to the kid.
By utilizing Informed Delivery, a complimentary USPS service, consumers can digitally sneak peek inbound mail and bundles from a computer system, tablet, or mobile phone.
More than 52 million consumers have actually registered because it was introduced in 2017 and signup here if interested. This service can help dog owners expect when their provider will show up.
“When our mail carriers are bitten, it is usually a ‘good dog’ that had not previously behaved in a menacing way,” said USPS Occupational Safety and Health Senior Director Linda DeCarlo. “In 2022, too many aggressive dogs impacted the lives of our employees while delivering the mail. Please help us reduce that number by being responsible pet owner who secures their dog as we deliver the mail.”
Letter providers are trained to:
- Not shock a dog;
- Keep their eyes on any dog;
- Never presume a dog will not bite;
- Make some sound or rattle a fence to notify a dog if getting in a lawn;
- Never effort to family pet or feed a dog; and
- Place their foot versus an outside swinging door to avoid a dog from getting away.
If a dog attacks, providers are likewise trained to stand their ground and secure their body by positioning something in between them and the dog such as a mail pouch, and to utilize dog repellent, if essential.
Even though postal authorities ask consumers to manage their dogs, bites still occur and might lead to injuries to providers and pricey medical costs for dog owners. Please observe the above finest practices to help stop dog bites and secure your mail provider.
“Recently, I was delivering to a customer’s mailbox and was nearly bitten by their large aggressive dog,” said Swain Lowe, a letter provider in Manassas, Virginia. “Despite the dog being behind a fence, it still managed to jump over and charge at me. Thankfully, I was aware of it and remembered not to run but to turn and use my satchel as a shield to prevent what could have been a terrible bite.”
Carriers have tools to notify them to dogs on their paths. A dog alert function on providers’ portable scanners can advise them of a possible dog risk, and dog caution cards might be utilized throughout mail arranging to alert providers to paths where a dog might hinder shipment.
Lastly, when a provider feels risky, mail service might be stopped, not just for the dog owner however for the whole community.
When mail service is stopped, mail needs to be gotten at the Post Office. Service will not be brought back up until the aggressive dog is correctly limited.
