Apr. 15, 2019

U.S. Postal Service Releases Dog Attack National Rankings

Colorado Spings and Pueblo rank 2nd and 3rd in the state for the Highest Number of Attacks on USPS Letter Carriers

Dog looking at Letter Carrier

What:   A report was just issued that ranks Denver as the 15th worst in the nation for dog attacks on letter carriers with 31. Colorado Springs had 10, and Pueblo 8.

Nationwide, the number of postal employees attacked by dogs was 5,714 in 2018. In Colorado, 105 carriers were attacked by dogs last year, a drop of 27 from the previous year’s total of 132.

The rankings coincide with National Dog Bite Prevention Week, April 14-20.

Nationwide, attacks have fallen by more than 1,000 over the last two years thanks to USPS proactive measures and public education.

“Our employees have been great at taking preventative measures against dog attacks, but they need help from our customers, too,” said USPS Safety Director Linda DeCarlo. “We are confident we can keep moving the trends of attacks downward, and ramping up overall awareness for everyone is the best way to do that.”  

2018 Dog Attack Rankings by City

A national map with statistics for each city can be accessed at at this link.

A total of 5,714 postal employees were attacked by dogs in 2018. The top 20 rankings are comprised of 29 cities, as some cities reported the same number of attacks:

 

Office City

Office State

CY-18

CY-17

1

HOUSTON

TX

75

71

2

LOS ANGELES

CA

60

67

3

PHILADELPHIA

PA

51

27

4

CLEVELAND

OH

50

49

5

DALLAS

TX

49

40

6

SAN ANTONIO

TX

47

44

7

MINNEAPOLIS

MN

38

27

8

CHICAGO

IL

37

38

8

COLUMBUS

OH

37

43

10

FORT WORTH

TX

35

26

11

DETROIT

MI

34

32

12

SAN DIEGO

CA

33

46

13

CHARLOTTE

NC

32

27

13

MEMPHIS

TN

32

20

15

BALTIMORE

MD

31

44

15

DENVER

CO

31

35

15

KANSAS CITY

MO

31

32

18

ST. LOUIS

MO

30

52

19

ALBUQUERQUE

NM

29

22

19

SACRAMENTO

CA

29

24

21

OAKLAND

CA

28

28

22

SEATTLE

WA

27

28

23

CINCINNATI

OH

24

25

23

MIAMI

FL

24

25

23

PHOENIX

AZ

24

24

26

LOUISVILLE

KY

23

39

27

BROOKLYN

NY

22

21

27

LAS VEGAS

NV

22

19

27

PORTLAND

OR

22

24

2018 top ten dog bite states

A national map with statistics for each city can be accessed at at this link. For more data related to your area, please contact your local USPS Corporate Communications professional.

National Dog Bite Prevention Week is a registered trademark of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

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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