Dog Bites on the Rise in Santa Rosa

July has been especially bad for Letter Carriers

SANTA ROSA Calif. — It’s summer, which means not only kids, but dogs are out and about. This month alone, there have been five incidents of dogs biting letter carriers in Santa Rosa. To help customers — especially the youngest ones — the Postal Service is stressing to the community the importance of preventing animal attacks.

While the country has become increasingly focused in the past year on the tragic injuries and deaths resulting from dog attacks, the Postal Service has been at the forefront of this issue for decades. Many of the OSHA recordable bites that were reported by letter carriers in 2007 came from dogs whose owners used those famous last words “my dog won’t bite.”

While the number of recent dog bites in Santa Rosa is disturbing, the most frequent victims of dog attacks are children. Children are 900 times more likely to be bitten than letter carriers. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) report that small children, the elderly, and letter carriers, in that order, are the most frequent victims. Dog attacks are the most commonly reported child­hood public health problem in the United States.

“Dog bites are a serious problem for the entire community, and not just our letter carriers,” said Santa Rosa Postmaster Irma Zine. She said the recent attacks were by dogs who have owners. “The dogs were not barking or being bothered … they just came up from behind and bit the carriers.”

The community can help prevent these painful tragedies by following these four suggestions:

• Teach your dog appropriate behavior. Don’t play aggressive games with your dog such as wrestling, tug of war, or siccing your dog on another person. It’s essential that your dog recognize members of your family as dominant figures not to be challenged.
• Be a responsible pet owner. For everyone’s safety, don’t allow your dog to roam. Make your pet a mem­ber of your family. Dogs that spend too much time tethered to a dog house or in the back yard have a much greater chance of developing aggressive behavioral problems.
• Stay on the safe side. Help your dog become accustomed to a variety of situations. If you don’t know how your dog will react to a new situation, be cau­tious. If you think your dog could panic in a crowd, leave him or her at home. If your dog may overreact to visitors or delivery people, keep him or her in another room.
• Remind children to be careful when leaving the house to not let the dog out.