INDIANAPOLIS -- If you’re a mail carrier in Indianapolis you may want to stay away from any dogs on your route. The city ranks 9th worst in the nation for dog attacks on postal workers.
The United States Postal Service released their annual dog attack rankings on Thursday. In total, 6,755 postal employees were attacked by dogs in 2016, and 44 of those attacks were in Indianapolis.
That's almost twice as many as in 2014 when 27 mail carriers were attacked by dogs in the city.
“Even good dogs have bad days,” said U.S. Postal Service Safety Director Linda DeCarlo in Los Angeles, where postal employees suffered 80 attacks — more than any other city in 2016. “Dog bite prevention training and continuing education are important to keep pet owners, pets and those who visit homes — like letter carriers — happy and healthy.”
RELATED | 27 mail carriers attacked by dogs in Indianapolis in 2014
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), half of the 4.5 million Americans who are bitten by dogs each year are children.
DeCarlo gave the following tips to help prevent dog attacks:
- If a letter 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. Dog owners should keep the family pet secured.
- Parents should remind their children and other family members not to take mail directly from letter carriers in the presence of the family pet, as the dog may view the letter carrier 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 letter 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 letter 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.
See a list of the top 25 cities for postal worker dog bits in 2016 below.
