INDIANAPOLIS, IN – As part of Dog Bite Prevention Week (May 15-May 21), the Postal Service has released its annual top dog attack city rankings. In 2015, Indianapolis ranked 16th in the nation in dog bite attacks — four down from 2014.

The Postal Service has joined forces with the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Humane Association, American Veterinary Medical Association, Insurance Information Institute and State Farm Insurance to drive home the message that dog bites are a nationwide issue and that education can help prevent dog attacks to people of all ages.

Nationally, the Postal Service reported that 6,549 employees were attacked by dogs last year.

In Indianapolis, dog bite attacks are an everyday reality to letter carriers delivering mail in the community. Here are just two examples of the kind of dog attacks that can occur.

One carrier had just placed the mail in the mailbox and was walking away when the home owner opened the door and the dog lunged at the carrier. To ward off the attack she put her hand up, and the dog bit her hand so badly she had to have surgery and spend time out of work. Another carrier had just placed a package on the porch so that it could not be seen from the curb. The dog inside the house was barking and charging the window. Suddenly, the glass shattered from the force of the dog’s nails and the glass flew out and splintered across the porch. The dog ran back into the house, but the carrier suffered severe damage from the glass and is still in rehab months after the incident.

On Tuesday, May 17, the Mapleton Post Office in Indianapolis has invited animal behaviorist Michelle Roggasch of Bark Tudor to come and speak to carriers and share tips on how best to avoid dog bite attacks.

DATE: Tuesday, May 17, 2016
TIME:   8:30 a.m.
PLACE: Mapleton Post Office, 2650 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. St., Indianapolis, IN 46208
DETAILS: Michelle Roggasch of Bark Tudor will share her experiences with dog behavior and a number of Indianapolis carriers who have been bitten or injured by dog attacks will be present and available for interview.  

Enhancing Employee Safety
The Postal Service has introduced two new safety measures to alert USPS Carriers of dogs on their delivery routes. The first goes into effect May 13 on usps.com’s Package Pickup application. Customers will be asked to indicate if there is a dog at their address when they schedule a package pickup. The second goes into effect later this spring.

Of 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. The following are some safety tips for dog owners.

• 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.

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

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