DENVER — 132 postal employees were attacked by dogs in Colorado in 2017 — 24 fewer than the year before. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has released its annual ranking of top dog attack cities, highlighted safety initiatives to help protect its employees and offered tips to pet owners.

Nationally, USPS reported 6,244 dog attacks for 2017, more than 500 fewer than the year before.

New technology is one reason for the decrease. Employee delivery scanners now display safety messages, including homes where dogs are present. This is especially helpful to carriers who are delivering in unfamiliar neighborhoods. Customers who choose Package Pickup at usps.com can indicate if there are dogs at their addresses when they schedule package pickups.

While the dog problem for postal carriers is very real, it’s not just a postal problem. Half of the 4.5 million Americans bitten by dogs annually are children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Postal Service shares the following dog bite prevention tips.

• If a postal carrier delivers a certified letter or a package to your front door, place your dog into a separate room and close the door before opening the front door. Dogs have been known to burst through screen doors or plate-glass windows to get at carriers.
• Dog owners should remind their children about the need to keep the family dog secured. Parents should tell their children not to take mail directly from letter carriers in the presence of the family pet as the dog may see handing mail to a child as a threatening gesture.

Click this link to watch a video on dog bite awareness and prevention tips.

2017 COLORADO Dog Attacks

2017 Dog Attack Rankings by City
A total of 6,244 postal employees were attacked by dogs in calendar year 2017 – 511 fewer than 2017. The top 20 city rankings are comprised of 35 cities as more than one city had the same number of attacks.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

# # #

Please Note: For broadcast quality video and audio, photo stills and other media resources, visit the USPS Newsroom at about.usps.com/news/welcome.htm.

For reporters interested in speaking with a regional Postal Service public relations professional, please go to about.usps.com/news/media-contacts/usps-local-media-contacts.pdf. Follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/usps), Instagram (instagram.com/uspostalservice), Pinterest (pinterest.com/uspsstamps), LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/usps), subscribe to our channel on YouTube (youtube.com/usps), like us on Facebook (facebook.com/usps) and view our Postal Posts blog (uspsblog.com).

For more information about the Postal Service, visit usps.com and usps.com/postalfacts.