Dogs are not Postal Service letter carriers’ ‘best friend’

SEATTLE — Dogs continue to pose a serious safety threat to U.S. Postal Service letter carriers.

This year, in the Postal Service’s Seattle District (which includes most of western Washington and a portion of central Washington), 84 letter carriers have been involved in a dog “incident,” with 69 actually being bitten.

“Dogs are protective and they may perceive letter carriers handing mail to their owners as a threat,” said Harold J. Matz, USPS Seattle District Manager.  “For the same reason, we ask parents to make sure their children don’t collect mail from our carriers in the presence of their pets.  Employee safety is always our number one concern.”

In 2007, more than 3,000 city and rural carriers were attacked by dogs across the United States.  The Postal Service has teamed with the American Veterinary Medical Association, Academy of Pediatrics, Prevent the Bite, and the National Association of Letter Carriers, to get out the word on the problem of dog attacks on children, the elderly and letter carriers.

Following are some tips on how to be a responsible dog owner:

• Obedience training can teach dogs proper behavior and help owners control their dogs.
• When a carrier comes to your home, keep your dog inside, away from the door in another room.
• Don’t let your children take mail from the carrier in the presence of your dog.  Your dog’s instinct is to protect the family.
• Spay or neuter your dog.  Neutered dogs are less likely to bite.  Statistics from the Humane Society show that dogs that have not been spayed or neutered are up to three times more likely to bite.
• Dogs that receive little attention or handling, or are left tied up for long periods of time frequently turn into biters.