BIG SPRING, TX — Dog attacks on Big Spring's mail carriers is showing an alarming increase this year, with four so far in 2016. From 2012 to 2015, Big Spring mail carriers experienced a total of two dog bites during the entire four-year period. Three of this year's dog attacks occurred within a short period in early June, prompting Postmaster Robert Fleet to ask Big Spring residents' for help in restraining their pets to ensure the safety of mail carriers and also the public.

Nationwide last year, 6,549 postal employees were victims of dog attacks, yet that pales in comparison to the 4.5 million Americans bitten by dogs annually, half of all victims are children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Many attacks to children are by the family pet or a dog familiar to the child, so it’s important to keep children and dogs separate, especially if a dog is known to act aggressively.

Beyond the needless pain and suffering, medical expenses from dog attacks cost the Postal Service nearly $1.2 million last year. According to the Insurance Information Institute, dog attacks accounted for more than one-third of all homeowners’ insurance liability claims paid out in 2010, costing nearly $413 million.

Most dog bites can be avoided with proper supervision and training, the postmaster urges people to train their pets so a bite attack will not happen again. 

"We all love our pets, but we need to remember that when you have delivery people like mail carriers who have a reason to come up to your house, you need to have them properly restrained," Fleet says. "The homeowner is actually responsible for that, so they can incur liability for the cost of treatment should their dog attack someone."

The postmaster offers pet owners the following tips:

- Keep your dog restrained. If you have it behind a fence make sure the fence is adequate where they can't jump over or go under the fence to go out. Make sure the gate is kept closed.

- If a letter carrier delivers mail or packages to your front door, place your dog in a separate room and close that door before opening the front door. Dogs have been known to burst through screen doors or plate-glass windows to get at strangers.

- Dog owners should keep the family dog secured. Parents should remind their children not to take mail directly from letter carriers in the presence of the family pet as the dog may view the letter carrier handing mail to a child as a threatening gesture.

- The Postal Service places the safety of its employees as a top priority. If a letter carrier feels threatened by a vicious dog or if a dog is running loose, the owner may be asked to pick up the mail at the Post Office until the carrier is assured the pet has been restrained. If the dog is roaming the neighborhood, the pet owner’s neighbors may be asked to pick up their mail at the Post Office as well."

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