Brooklyn letter carriers need your help to prevent the bite

June 23, 2020 Editorial Staff

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service

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For Postal Service officials and mail carriers, one bite is one too many.

In 2019, 320 Post Office employee dog bite accidents were recorded throughout New York State. In Brooklyn, carriers had eight dog bite incidents for 2019 and 2020, according to the U.S. Postal Service.

Dog bites can be a serious injury for letter carriers who are outside every day delivering mail homes. Even though the number of U.S. Postal Service employees attacked by dogs nationwide fell to 5,803 in 2019 — more than 200 fewer than in 2018 and more than 400 fewer since 2017, the Postal Service is requesting customer support to get this number down to zero.

The theme for the 2020 U.S. Postal Service National Dog Bite Awareness Month 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.

The Postal Service offers the following safety tips for dog owners:

When 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. Dogs have been known to burst through screen doors or plate glass windows to attack visitors.
Parents should remind children and other family members not to take mail directly from carriers in the presence of the family pet. The dog may view the carrier handing mail to a family member as a threatening gesture.
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 location or other facility until the carrier is assured the pet has been restrained. If the 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 location.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.