What:

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.

“When our mail carriers are bitten, it is usually a ‘good dog’ that had not previously behaved in a menacing way,” said USPS Occupational Safety and Health Senior Director Linda DeCarlo. “In 2022, too many aggressive dogs impacted the lives of our employees while delivering the mail. Please help us reduce that number by being a responsible pet owner who secures their dog as we deliver the mail.”

Who:

Linda DeCarlo, USPS Occupational Safety and Health Senior Director
Jewel Morrow, Acting Illinois 1 District Manager
Loretta Wilkins, Acting Chicago Postmaster
Kerry Omerza, Owner and Head Trainer, Sit Means Sit
Angela Peake, Letter Carrier, Westchester/Maywood.

When:

Thursday, June 1, 2023
Time: 10:00 a.m.

Where:

Cardiss Collins Post Office
433 W. Harrison Street
Chicago IL 60699

Background:

Running June 4-10, 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 “Even good dogs have bad days.”

Below is a list of the U.S. cities with the highest number of dog bites of USPS mail carriers during 2022. Chicago is 6th on this list, with a total of 36 dog bite attacks of mail carriers.

2022 Dog Attack Rankings by City

The top 20 ranking are comprised of 36 cities, as some cities reported the same number of attacks. For 2022 dog attack data  in your specific city or town, contact your local USPS public relations representative.

Calendar Year 2022
City	State	2022	Rank
HOUSTON	TX	57	1
LOS ANGELES	CA	48	2
DALLAS	TX	44	3
CLEVELAND	OH	43	4
SAN DIEGO	CA	39	5
CHICAGO	IL	36	6
ST. LOUIS	MO	34	7
KANSAS CITY	MO	33	8
PHOENIX	AZ	32	9
SAN ANTONIO	TX	32	9
DETROIT	MI	30	10
PHILADELPHIA	PA	28	11
LOUISVILLE	KY	26	12
COLUMBUS	OH	23	13
MINNEAPOLIS	MN	22	14
MILWAUKEE	WI	22	14
CINCINNATI	OH	22	14
CHARLOTTE	NC	21	15
MIAMI	FL	21	15
INDIANAPOLIS	IN	21	15
TOLEDO	OH	20	16
BATON ROUGE	LA	20	16
MEMPHIS	TN	19	17
SAN FRANSISCO	CA	19	17
PITTSBURGH	PA	19	17
DENVER	CO	19	17
AKRON	OH	19	17
BUFFALO	NY	18	18
DAYTON	OH	18	18
FORT WORTH	TX	17	19
LONG BEACH	CA	16	20
STOCKTON	CA	16	20
JACKSONVILLE	FL	16	20
OKLAHOMA CITY	OK	16	20
EL PASO	TX	16	20
BALTIMORE	MD	16	20

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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