What:

A Phoenix letter carrier will be available to talk to media about his experience with dogs and give consumer information on how to keep dogs from attacking delivery drivers, service personnel and others.

The Postal Service has released its dog attack city rankings for 2022. Phoenix is on the list at number 9 with 32 attacks last year, up from 28 in 2021. There were 78 postal employees in Arizona who were attacked by dogs last year, up from 68 in 2021. More than 5,300 postal employees were attacked by dogs in 2022 throughout the nation, 100 fewer than in 2021.

To emphasize the seriousness of this issue, USPS is sponsoring Dog Bite Awareness Week, June 4-10.

Who:

Phoenix Letter Carrier Joe Willers will offer helpful advice for preventing dog attacks.

When:

Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at 9:00 A.M.

Where:

Washington Station
8155 N Black Canyon Hwy
Phoenix, AZ, 85021

Background:

More than 5,300 Postal Service employees were attacked by dogs while delivering the mail last year. Aggressive dog behavior is a common safety concern USPS employees face. To keep its workers safe, the organization is providing important information on how dog owners can be good stewards for safe mail delivery as part of its annual National Dog Bite Awareness Week public service campaign.

The campaign runs Sunday, June 4, through Saturday, June 10. This year’s theme is “Even good dogs have bad days.”Spread the news of the campaign with the hashtag #dogbiteawareness.

Pet Owners Can Help Support Safe Mail Delivery

Mail carriers know all dogs can bite, even those perceived as nonaggressive. Dogs are generally protective of their turf and dog owners have an important responsibility to control them to ensure safe mail delivery.

Most people know the approximate time their letter carrier arrives every day. Securing your dog before the carrier approaches your property will minimize any potentially dangerous interactions.

When a letter carrier comes to your home, keep dogs:

• Inside the house or behind a fence;
• Away from the door or in another room; or
• On a leash.

Pet owners also should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child.

The Victims

Many attacks reported by letter carriers came from dogs whose owners regularly stated, “My dog won’t bite.” Dog bites are entirely preventable. One bite is one too many.

Being Attentive While Delivering

Letter carriers are trained to observe an area where they know dogs may be present. They are taught to be alert for potentially dangerous conditions and to respect a dog’s territory.

Letter carriers are trained to:

• Not startle a dog;
• Keep their eyes on any dog;
• Never assume a dog will not bite;
• Make some noise or rattle a fence to alert a dog if entering a yard;
• Never attempt to pet or feed a dog; and
• place their foot against an outward swinging door to prevent a dog from escaping.

If a dog attacks, carriers are also trained to stand their ground and protect their body by placing something between them and the dog — such as a mail satchel — and to use dog repellent, if necessary.

Even though postal officials ask customers to control their dogs, bites still happen and may result in injuries to carriers and costly medical expenses for dog owners. Please heed the above best practices to help stop dog bites and protect your mail carrier.

Carriers have tools to alert them to dogs on their routes. A dog alert feature on carriers’ handheld scanners can remind them of a possible dog hazard, and dog warning cards may be used during mail sorting to alert carriers to routes where a dog may interfere with delivery.

Lastly, when a carrier feels unsafe, mail service could be halted — not only for the dog owner, but for the entire neighborhood. When mail service is stopped, mail must be picked up at the Post Office. Service will not be restored until the aggressive dog is properly restrained.

2022 Dog Attack Rankings by City

The top 25 ranking are comprised of 52 cities, as some cities reported the same number of attacks.

CY 2022 Dog Bite/Dog Incident Data
	CITY	# of DOG BITE/DOG	Rank by count	Top 25 by number
1	HOUSTON, TX	57	1	1
2	LOS ANGELES, CA	48	2	2
3	DALLAS, TX	44	3	3
4	CLEVELAND, OH	43	4	4
5	SAN DIEGO, CA	39	5	5
6	CHICAGO, IL	36	6	6
7	SAINT LOUIS, MO	34	7	7
8	KANSAS CITY, MO	33	8	8
9	PHOENIX, AZ	32	9	9
10	SAN ANTONIO, TX	32	9	9
11	DETROIT, MI	30	11	10
12	PHILADELPHIA, PA	28	12	11
13	LOUISVILLE, KY	26	13	12
14	COLUMBUS, OH	23	14	13
15	MINNEAPOLIS, MN	22	15	14
16	MILWAUKEE, WI	22	15	14
17	CINCINNATI, OH	22	15	14
18	CHARLOTTE, NC	21	18	15
19	MIAMI, FL	21	18	15
20	INDIANOPLIS, IN	21	18	15
21	TOLEDO, OH	20	21	16
22	BATON ROUGE, LA	20	21	16
23	MEMPHIS, TN	19	23	17
24	SAN FRANCISCO, CA	19	23	17
25	PITTSBURGH, PA	19	23	17
26	DENVER, CO	19	23	17
27	AKRON, OH	19	23	17
28	BUFFALO, NY	18	28	18
29	DAYTON, OH	18	28	18
30	FORT WORTH, TX	17	30	19
31	LONG BEACH, CA	16	31	20
32	STOCKTON, CA	16	31	20
33	JACKSONVILLE, FL	16	31	20
34	OKLAHOMA CITY, OK	16	31	20
35	EL PASO, TX	16	31	20
36	BALTIMORE, MD	16	31	20
37	ROCHESTER, NY	15	37	21
38	OAKLAND, CA	15	37	21
39	SAN JOSE, CA	15	37	21
40	LAS VEGAS, NV	15	37	21
41	PUEBLO, CO	14	41	22
42	ALBUQUERQUE	14	41	22
43	TULSA, OK	13	43	23
44	SPOKANE, WA	13	43	23
45	SEATTLE, WA	13	43	23
46	CORPUS CHRISTI, TX	13	43	23
47	BAKERSFIELD, CA	13	43	23
48	SALT LAKE CITY, UT	12	48	24
49	SPRINGFIELD, MO	11	49	25
50	COLUMBIA, SC	11	49	25
51	OMAHA, NE	11	49	25
52	ANAHEIM, CA	11	49	25

Top 10 Dog Bite States:

State	2021	2022
CA	656	675
TX	368	404
NY	239	321
PA	281	313
OH	359	311
IL	226	245
FL	201	220
MI	244	206
MO	161	166
NC	126	146

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