What:

A recent report named California as first in the country for dog bites, with over 727 incidents in 2023. Nationwide, there were more than 5,800 incidents involving dogs and mail carriers last year.

The United States Postal Service’s Dog Bite Awareness campaign begins Sunday, June 2, and runs through Sunday, June 9. This year’s theme is “Don’t let your dog bite the hand that serves you.” Spread the news of the campaign with the hashtag #dogbiteawareness.

To promote awareness and ways customers can help, the Crescent City Post Office will be hosting a live demonstration with a specially trained Crescent City Police Department volunteer and K-9.

Crescent City Carrier Michelle Martin will also be available to share steps taken to prevent dog bites, promote the safety of letter carriers, and ways the public can help to be responsible pet owners.

Who:

Crescent City Carrier Michelle Martin
Crescent City Police Department Volunteer

When:

Tues., June 4, 8:00 a.m.

MEDIA RSVP to Kristina.Uppal@usps.gov

Where:

Crescent City Post Office
751 2nd st.,
Crescent City CA 95531

Background:

Running June 2-9, 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 “Don’t Let Your Dog Bite the Hand That Serves You.”

Dog Owners Can Help With Safe Mail Delivery

Letter 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.

Stay Informed, See the Mail Before It Arrives

By using Informed Delivery, a free USPS service, customers can digitally preview incoming mail and packages from a computer, tablet or mobile device. More than 52 million customers have enrolled since the service was launched in 2017. Sign up is at informeddelivery.usps.com. This service can help dog owners anticipate when their carrier will arrive.

Staying Focused on 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:

• Make a non-threatening noise or rattle a fence to alert a dog if entering a yard;
• Never startle a dog;
• Keep their eyes on any dog;
• Never assume a dog will not bite;
• 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.

Letter 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 must be used during mail sorting to alert carriers to addresses where a dog may interfere with delivery.

Holding the Mail

When a carrier feels unsafe, mail service can be stopped. Until the carrier feels safe enough to restart delivery, the mail will have to be picked up at the dog owner’s local Post Office. If a carrier feels a house or neighborhood is unsafe to deliver the mail and there is no way to inform residents their mail service has been suspended, the residents would have to contact the supervisor at their local Post Office for more information. The residents would also have to pick up their mail at the Post Office until it is safe to resume delivery. If a dangerous dog issue is not resolved, owners can be required to rent a Post Office box to receive mail.

Below is a list of the U.S. states with the highest number of dog attacks of USPS mail carriers during 2023. California is tops among all states, with 727.

	STATE	# of DOG BITES	Rank by count
1	CALIFORNIA	727	1
2	Texas	411	2
3	Ohio	359	3
4	Pennsylvania	334	4
5	Illinois	316	5
6	New York	296	6
7	Florida	193	7
8	North Carolina	185	8
9	Michigan	183	9
10	Missouri	180	10

Additional information about Dog Bite Awareness Week is available at the USPS National Dog Bite Awareness Week page.

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