What:

The United States Postal Service will partner with Animal Care Services in a press conference to highlight National Dog Bite Awareness Week, June 14-20, a public service campaign that offers safety tips and emphasizes the need for increased owner responsibility in the prevention of dog attacks. From nips and bites to vicious attacks, aggressive dog behavior poses a serious threat to our employees. USPS and ACS aim to help promote the awareness of this public health concern in an effort to reduce the number of adverse interactions with the letter carriers in our community.

Who:

Robert D. Carr, Jr., Postmaster, San Antonio, TX
Heber Lefgren, Director, City of San Antonio Animal Care Services

When:

Friday, June 12, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.

Where:

Arsenal Post Office
1140 S. Laredo St.
San Antonio, TX 78204

Background:

The theme for the 2020 U.S. Postal Service National Dog Bite Awareness Week, June 14-20, is “Be Alert: Prevent the Bite.” The campaign addresses aggressive dog behaviors that pose serious threats to the more than 80,000 Postal Service employees delivering mail and how communities they serve can play an integral part in their safety.

Postal Service officials report that in 2019, 5,803 letter carriers experienced dog bites or dog attacks. With deliveries every day, including Sundays and holidays, carriers continue to experience dog bites in urban, suburban and rural settings.

Dog attacks and bites are 100 percent preventable when dog owners remain vigilant and properly restrain their dogs.

To ensure mail carriers’ safety, dog owners must securely lock their dog in another room until a delivery exchange is done. If a dog is outside, the dog must be leashed away from the mailbox.

The United States Postal Service and Animal Care Services are in partnership to bring attention to the serious threat aggressive dog behavior poses to the community, especially letter carriers and children. Together, we can prevent the bite.

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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