What:

The U.S. Postal Service will kick off its annual National Dog Bite Awareness Week campaign by teaming up with the San Diego Humane Society to share dog bite prevention tips and provide a demonstration of dog bite prevention tactics employed by its mail carriers.

More than 5,400 USPS mail carriers were attacked by dogs in the United States in 2021. Thirty-one of those attacks occurred in San Diego.

“The Postal Service takes the safety of our employees as seriously as we take our commitment to delivering America’s mail,” said USPS Occupational Safety and Health Senior Director Linda DeCarlo. “Each year more than 5,000 of our mail carriers are attacked by dogs while on their routes. We ask that our customers deliver for us by being responsible pet owners and making sure that their dogs are secured when our carriers come to their mailboxes.”

“Dog owners know that few passersby are as exciting to their pets as mail carriers,” said Juliette Nash, San Diego Humane Society Community Animal Training Supervisor. “Because our pets are members of our families, we never want to put them in situations where they feel stressed and react by biting. Similarly, our carriers are members of our community, providing a service to us all, and we should all do our part to help them do their jobs safely and without fear.”

Who:

Linda DeCarlo, USPS Sr Dir, Occupational Safety & Health
Ed Ruiz, USPS Vice President, WestPac Area Retail & Delivery Operations
Jennifer Vo, USPS District Manager, CAL6 District
Lisa Baldwin, USPS San Diego Postmaster
Juliette Nash, Community Animal Training Supervisor, San Diego Humane Society
USPS mail carriers demonstrating dog bite prevention tactics

When:

10 a.m. on Thursday, June 2, 2022

RSVP to duke.gonzales@usps.gov

Where:

Outdoor Amphitheater
Civita Park
7960 Civita Blvd
San Diego CA 92108

Background:

Running June 5-11, National Dog Bite Awareness Week is a USPS-sponsored public service campaign that offers safety tips and emphasizes the need for increased owner responsibility in the prevention of dog attacks. Its theme this year is “USPS Delivers for America. Deliver for Us by Restraining Your Dog.”

Below is a list of the U.S. cities with the highest number of dog bites of USPS mail carriers during 2021. San Diego is tied for 11th on this list, with a total of 31 dog bite attacks of mail carriers.

1 - CLEVELAND, OH - 58 bites
2 - HOUSTON, TX -  54
3 - KANSAS CITY, MO - 48 
4 - LOS ANGELES, CA - 44
5 - LOUISVILLE, KY -  42
6 - DALLAS, TX -  38
7 - ST LOUIS, MO - 36 
8 - CHICAGO, IL - 35 
9 - DETROIT, MI- 34 
10 - PHILADELPHIA, PA -  32
11 - COLUMBUS, OH - 31 
11 - SAN DIEGO, CA - 31
13 - SAN ANTONIO, TX- 30 
14 - DENVER, CO - 29
15 - PHOENIX, AZ - 28

An extended list of dog bite statistics by city and a list of dog bite prevention tips are available at the USPS National Dog Bite Prevention Week page.

The Postal Service generally 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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