At least 132 United States Postal Service mail carriers were attacked by Colorado dogs in 2017, with 35 of those attacks coming in Denver.
Carrying the mail is a tough job. While technology has made the job easier in a lot of ways -- postal workers can drive their routes instead of walking it all -- there is one occupational hazard that remains: dogs.
The feud between the postal worker and man's best friend has raged for well over a century. It is perhaps second only to the ongoing war between dogs and the garbage men ...
As long as there have been mail carriers, they have been running away from dogs. According to statistics released by the United States Post Office, at least 132 Colorado postal workers need to learn to run a little faster.
Of those, 35 dog attacks came against postal workers in Denver. The next largest concentration of dog attacks came in Pueblo and Colorado Springs (each with 14 reported incidents). When compared with other cities around the country, Denver ranked eleventh. The most dog attacks last year were reported in Houston, Texas (71). The next four cities were Los Angeles, CA (67), St. Louis, MO (52), Cleveland, OH (49), and San Diego, CA (46).
Across the country, the U.S. Postal Service reported 6,244 dog attacks on postal workers in 2017. As high as that may seem, it is actually 511 fewer attacks than the 2016 total.
The Post Office attributes these declines to technological advancements designed to help mail carriers avoid dogs altogether. The scanners (pictured above) used by mail carriers now highlight homes that have angry dogs. While many postal workers have committed this information to memory, it is especially helpful for carriers working in unfamiliar neighborhoods. The Post Office also now allows for customers to indicate that they have dogs when they are scheduling package pickups.
The hazard certainly isn't limited to USPS. Private package delivery companies like FedEx or UPS also have to watch out for dog bites. Though since these are private companies, they seldom release dog bite statistics.
The Post Office is asking Colorado customers with dogs to take certain precautions to help prevent dog bites. They are suggesting,
- If a postal carrier delivers a certified letter or a package to your front door, place your dog into a separate room and close the door before opening the front door. Dogs have been known to burst through screen doors or plate-glass windows to get at carriers.
- Dog owners should remind their children about the need to keep the family dog secured. Parents should tell their children not to take mail directly from letter carriers in the presence of the family pet as the dog may see handing mail to a child as a threatening gesture.
Here are the totals for 2017 dog attacks on postal workers in Colorado, by city.
- Denver -- 35
- Colorado Springs -- 14
- Pueblo -- 14
- Boulder -- 5
- Arvada -- 4
- Fort Collins -- 4
- Littleton -- 4
- Loveland -- 4
- Westminster -- 4
- Aurora -- 3
- Brighton -- 3
- Northglenn -- 3
- Wheat Ridge -- 3
- Commerce City -- 2
- Delta -- 2
- Englewood -- 2
- Evergreen - 2
- Fort Morgan -- 2
- Golden -- 2
- Greeley -- 2
- Montrose -- 2
- Salida -- 2
- Sterling -- 2
- Eckert -- 1
- Evans -- 1
- Fairplay -- 1
- Fort Lupton -- 1
- Fowler -- 1
- Grand Junction -- 1
- Johnstown -- 1
- Longmont -- 1
- Parker -- 1
- Peyton -- 1
- Wellington -- 1
- Windsor -- 1
While postal carriers are especially at risk for dog bites, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 4.5 million Americans suffer dog bites in a given year. At least half of those victims are believed to be children.
Do you have a dog? Has he or she ever freaked out on a delivery driver? Tell us your story in the comment section below!
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