Illinois Ranks 6th For Dog Attacks On Post Office Letter Carriers

CHICAGO — Mail carriers were attacked or bitten by aggressive dogs 36 times in Chicago last year, according to a tally released by the U.S. Postal Service for National Dog Bite Awareness Week, which runs through Saturday.

Nationally, more than 5,300 Postal Service workers were attacked by dogs last year, the USPS said in a news release.

Chicago ranked sixth for the most dog attacks, and Illinois, with 245 attacks reported, ranked sixth as well, well behind California, which paced the country with 656 mail carrier attacks by dogs.

Houston led the city rankings for postal workers attacked by dogs with 57, followed by Los Angeles and Dallas, which reported 48 and 44 attacks, respectively.

The Postal Service says National Dog Bite Awareness Week reinforces the obligation of pet owners to keep their dogs leashed or securely out of the way before the carrier arrives.

All dogs, even nonaggressive ones, can bite. The theme this year is “Even good dogs have bad days.”

“When our mail carriers are bitten, it is usually by a ‘good dog’ that had not previously behaved in a menacing way,” USPS Occupational Safety and Health Senior Director Linda DeCarlo said in the news release.

“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.”

Mail carriers typically arrive around the same time every day. To eliminate the chance of an attack, keep the dog inside the house or behind a fence, away from the door in another room or on a leash, the release said.

Also, pet owners should remind children not to take the mail directly from the carrier, because the dog may perceive that as a threat, the release said.

The Postal Service said its carriers are trained to act in a nonthreatening way around dogs and be as unobtrusive as possible when delivering mail. They’re also trained on what to do if a dog attacks.

Even when precautions are taken, injuries can happen and possibly result in costly medical expenses for customers.

A Manassas, Virginia, mail carrier, Swain Lowe, was nearly bitten by a large aggressive dog, according to the release.

“Despite the dog being behind a fence, it still managed to jump over and charge me,” he said in the release. “Thankfully, I was aware of it and remembered not to run but to turn and use my satchel as a shield to prevent what could have been a terrible bite.”

Houston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Cleveland and San Diego, respectively, were the top five cities for dog attacks on mail carriers in 2022.

The top states were California, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively.