CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The United States Postal Service released numbers for mail carrier dog attacks in 2017, and Charlotte was among the top 20 cities on the list.
The top five cities were Houston, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Cleveland and San Diego. Charlotte was ranked 14th along with Minneapolis and Philadelphia with 27 attacks, down from 33 in 2016.
A total of 6,244 mail carriers were attacked by dogs across the country in 2017, down about 500 from the previous year.
“The totals are still too high, but we’re confident that with continuing education and dog bite prevention training, along with advancing technology, we can keep more people safe and keep attacks trending downward,” said U.S. Postal Service Safety Director Linda DeCarlo.
The 2017 statistics were released in conjunction with National Dog Bite Prevention Week which runs through Saturday, April 14.
USPS put safety measures in place to alert mail carriers about dogs on their delivery routes. The Package Pickup application on the USPS website asks customers if there are dogs on the property.
“The scanners that our carriers use to confirm a customer’s delivery include a feature for them to indicate the presence of a dog at an individual address,” said DeCarlo. “This information is particularly helpful for substitute carriers who fill in for regular carriers on their days off.”
Here are some tips from USPS on how you can help prevent dog attacks on mail carriers.
- If a carrier delivers mail or packages to your front door, place your dog in a separate room and close that door before opening the front door. Some dogs burst through screen doors or plate-glass windows to attack visitors. Dog owners should keep the family pet secured.
- Parents should remind their children and other family members not to take mail directly from carriers in the presence of the family pet, as the dog may view the person handing mail to a family member as a threatening gesture.
- The Postal Service places the safety of its employees as a top priority. If a carrier feels threatened by a dog, or if a dog is loose or unleashed, the owner may be asked to pick up mail at a Post Office until the carrier is assured the pet has been restrained. If a dog is roaming the neighborhood, the pet owner’s neighbors also may be asked to pick up their mail at the area’s Post Office.
USPS also has a video on dog bite prevention tips available on its YouTube channel.