Dogs Attack Mail Carriers In California More Than Any Other State

LOS ANGELES — If ever there was a state where postal carriers should get hazard pay, it's California.

Talk about dubious bragging rights: California is the worst state in America for dog bites and attacks on postal workers in 2021, according to a new U.S. Postal Service ranking.

The ranking came out Sunday, the first day of its annual National Dog Bite Awareness Week public service campaign, which continues through Saturday. The theme this year: “The USPS Delivers for America — Deliver for Us by Restraining Your Dog.”

Doing so could have prevented more than 5,400 postal employees from being attacked in 2021 in a range of encounters from nips and bites to vicious attacks, the USPS said.

Postal workers in California were bitten or attacked 656 times in 2021.

Los Angeles is the worst city in the state for dog attacks on postal workers and the fourth-worst nationwide, according to the U.S. Postal Service ranking. Also on the list of the top 20 worst states for dog attacks on postal carriers is San Diego, which is tied with Columbia for number 11th.

Dogs are protective by nature, and even friendly dogs will bite under certain circumstances as they protect their territory, according to USPS Employee Safety and Health Awareness Manager Leeann Theriault.

Most people know the time of day their letter carrier typically arrives. Customers should “act responsibly” by taking a few simple steps before the mail arrives to limit carrier-dog interactions. When the carrier arrives:

• Keep the dogs inside, away from the door or another room.
• Keep dogs behind a fence.
• Keep dogs on a leash.

Carriers are trained to be alert for dogs and in tactics to avoid being bitten or attacked. But it happens, carriers are trained to protect themselves, whether by placing their mail satchel or some other barrier between them and the dog, or by using dog repellant. Carriers also get alerts on handheld scanners to alert them to dogs on their routes, notify dog owners if their animals interfered with delivery, and may halt delivery altogether if they feel unsafe.

Still, bites happen.

Here ar the Top 10 metro areas and the number of dog bites and attacks in 2021, according to the USPS:

• Cleveland (58)
• Houston (54)
• Kansas City, Missouri (48)
• Los Angeles (44)
• Louisville, Kentucky (42)
• Dallas (38)
• St. Louis (36)
• Chicago (35)
• Detroit (34)
• Philadelphia (32)