EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) released their ranking on Texas cities with the most dog attacks on letter carriers.
Employees that were attacked rose to more than 5,800 cases nationwide in 2023, and El Paso was ranked sixth in Texas for most dog attacks, according to USPS.
The postal service is bringing awareness to the attacks with their 2024 campaign, USPS 2024 National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign, that will offer dog owners on the safe delivery of their mail and the safety of mail carriers.
Dog attacking mail carrier. Photo courtesy to USPS.
The campaigns run from Sunday, June 2 through Sunday, June 9, and the 2024 theme is “Don’t let your dog bite the hand that serves you,” according to USPS.
2023 Texas Dog Attack Rankings by City
City2023RankHouston561Dallas392San Antonio263Fort Worth234Corpus Christi155El Paso146Amarillo107Austin88Grand Prairie7Tied-9Garland7Tied-9Data provided by USPS.
Top 10 Dog Bite States
State20232022California727675Texas411404Ohio359311Pennsylvania334313Illinois316245New York296321Florida193220North Carolina185146Michigan183206Missouri180166Data provided by USPS.
“Letter carriers are exposed to potential hazards every day, none more prevalent than a canine encounter. All it takes is one interaction for a letter carrier to possibly suffer an injury,” said Leeann Theriault, USPS manager, employee safety and health awareness. The U.S. Postal Service consistently encourages responsible pet ownership. The national dog bite campaign is an effort to promote dog bite awareness to keep our customers, their dogs, and letter carriers safe while delivering the mail.”
USPS encourages dog owners to do these steps to keep mail carriers safe:
Keep dogs inside the house or behind a fence
Keep dogs away from the door or in another room
Keep dogs on a leash
According to USPS, mail carriers are trained to:
Make a non-threatening noise or rattle a fence to alert a dog if entering a yard
Never startle a dog
Keep their eyes on any dog
Never assume a dog will not bite
Never attempt to pet or feed a dog
Place their foot against an outward swinging door to prevent a dog from escaping
If a dog attacks a mail carrier, the carrier is also trained to stand their ground and protect their body by placing something between them and use dog repellent if necessary.
“Even though a customer’s dog is friendly to most people, it can always have a bad day,” said letter carrier Tara Snyder. “I know, from experience, even when a dog is in the house, customers need to make sure their door is secure so their dog can’t push it open and bite the letter carrier.”
USPS says if the mail carrier feels unsafe, mail service can be stopped, and residents will have to pick up at a local post office until it is safe to resume delivery.
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