Denver is #3…..in Postal Service dog bites

If you’ve ever watched your mail carrier nervously approach your front door while your dog goes absolutely feral at the window, well — turns out, you’re not alone. Not even close.

There were more than 6,000 reported dog attacks on Postal Service employees last year, up from about 5,800 such incidents the year before, according to data released as part of the latest USPS National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign. That’s right — six thousand. So yeah, dog attacks on postal workers have reached a 7-year high.

The Rankings: Who’s Topping the Bite List?

According to the U.S. Postal Service, here are the top 10 cities for dog attacks on mail carriers:

Los Angeles, shocking absolutely no one, takes the top spot. Other California cities also made the top 20 list, including San Diego, Sacramento, San Francisco, Stockton and Oakland. Nationwide, California led all states with 701 dog bite incidents, Texas ranked second, while Ohio came in third.

And while the Midwest loves to talk about its hospitality, the six states with the highest rates of dog attacks — Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Ohio — are all Midwestern. Last year, there were an average of 5.24 dog attacks per 100,000 households in the Midwest, a rate 75% higher than in the South. So, maybe reconsider that “Iowa Nice” bumper sticker.

But Wait, It Gets Expensive

Here’s where it stops being funny — for the dog owners, anyway. If a dog attack does occur, the financial and emotional impacts can be significant: The average cost per insurance claim for a dog bite was nearly $70,000, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

And if you think your homeowner’s insurance just quietly handles that, owners may be held liable for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement and pain and suffering. In some cases, mail service may be suspended if carriers feel unsafe, forcing owners to pick up mail at their local Post Office. If the situation persists, the owner may be required to rent a P.O. Box. Good luck with that.

“My Dog Would Never…”

Yeah, we’ve heard that one before. Said USPS employee safety and health awareness manager Leeann Theriault: “All dogs — regardless of breed, size or age — have the potential to bite.”

With more than 1 in 3 American households owning dogs, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, danger abounds for mail carriers. And the Postal Service releases its dog attack figures every year as part of its Dog Bite Awareness Campaign. The incidents, mostly self-reported by employees, include chases, bites, assaults and deaths, like that of a 61-year-old mail carrier in Florida who died in 2022 after she was mauled by five dogs. So this isn’t just a minor inconvenience — it’s a real safety crisis.

One carrier, Jonah Helfrich, didn’t have to imagine a worst-case scenario. “I was recently delivering mail and a dog barged through a door and bit me on the wrist, which required me to seek medical treatment.” Through a door. Let that sink in.

What Can You Actually Do About It?

Glad you asked, because the USPS has some pretty straightforward advice that most dog owners just … don’t follow. The USPS recommends securing dogs before the mail carrier arrives, as mail is generally delivered at a similar time every day, or keeping a dog secured on a leash if it is outside when a carrier arrives.

Pet owners also should remind children not to take mail directly from a letter carrier, as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child. Yep, even the good boy protecting the kids can become a problem real fast.

On the carrier’s end, the Postal Service has instituted guidelines for interacting with dogs on routes and ways to protect against harm, including carrying dog repellent and using mail satchels to create distance from dogs. A dog alert feature on carriers’ handheld scanners can also remind them of a possible dog hazard, and dog warning cards must be used during mail sorting to alert carriers to addresses where a dog may interfere with delivery.

At the end of the day, your letter carrier just wants to drop off your Amazon packages and move on. Let’s make that happen.