DETROIT, MI — The Postal Service is ready to deliver more than 15 billion cards, letters, and packages this holiday season, including more than 850 million packages. With the increase in package delivery, more customers will be opening their doors to accept deliveries, increasing the potential for dog attacks.

“Dog bite prevention and education are important to keep pet owners and those who visit homes for the holidays – like letter carriers – safe and happy,” says Lee Thompson, district manager, Detroit. “Keeping dogs secure will help letter carriers get all the cards and packages delivered in time for the holidays

The Postal Service is highlighting these safety tips to pet 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 attack visitors. Dog owners should keep the family pet secured.
• Please make sure your dog is contained during the hours the letter carrier may be in your neighborhood.
• Parents should remind their children and other family members 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 family member as a threatening gesture.
• The Package Pickup application on usps.com asks customers to indicate if there are dogs at their addresses when they schedule package pickups. This information is provided to letter carriers on their delivery scanners, which also can send real-time updates if an unleashed dog is reported in a delivery area.
• The Postal Service places the safety of its employees as a top priority. If a letter carrier feels threatened by a dog, or if a dog is loose or unleashed, the owner may be asked to pick up mail at a Post Office until the letter carrier is assured the pet has been restrained. If the dog is roaming the neighborhood, the pet owner’s neighbors also may be asked to pick up their mail at the area’s Post Office.

“We want letter carriers to be safe,” adds Thompson. “We can only do this with the help of our customers.”

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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