USPS Ranks Indianapolis Among Cities With Most Dog Attacks

INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- With just a few days until National Dog Bite Prevention Week, USPS has released its annual statistics on the number of dog attacks on postal workers.USPS says 6,244 postal workers across the country were attacked by dogs in 2017, and includes Indianapolis among the top 30 cities with the most attacks. However, USPS reports that number is more than 500 less than the number of attacks in 2016, hoping to continue that decline in the future with the help of new technology that alerts mail carriers of potential attacks.

In the USPS report, Indianapolis ranked 16 with 25 attacks in 2017, down from 44 in 2016.

The company notes that some cities share the same rankings as they experienced the same number of attacks, such as Miami, Rochester, Cincinnati and Toledo, where, like Indy, there were 25 attacks in 2017.

Each of the top 10, however, had different numbers: Houston (71), Los Angeles (67), St. Louis (52), Cleveland (49), San Diego (46), Baltimore (44), San Antonio (46), Columbus, OH (43), Dallas (40), Louisville (39) and Chicago (38).

Only half of the top 10 cities had an increase in number of attacks from 2016 to 2017.

“We’re encouraged by the decrease in dog attacks,” said U.S. Postal Service Safety Director Linda DeCarlo in the release. “The totals are still too high, but we’re confident that with continuing education and dog bite prevention training, along with advancing technology, we can keep more people safe and keep attacks trending downward.”

USPS says DeCarlo was in San Diego Thursday (the 5th ranked city), April 5, to kick off National Dog Bite Prevention Week, which runs Sunday, April 8, through Saturday, April 14. The Postal Service, joined by the American Humane, American Veterinary Medical Association, Insurance Information Institute and State Farm Insurance, is emphasizing the message that dog bites are a national issue that can be resolved through education.

On Thursday, the USPS says they showcased technology that alerts mail carriers of potential attacks and highlighted safety initiatives to help protect its employees and offers tips to pet owners.

How everyone can help increase employee safety:

The company says The Package Pickup application on usps.com asks customers to indicate if there are dogs at their addresses when they schedule package pickups. USPS says this information is provided to carriers on their delivery scanners which send alerts if an unleashed dog is reported in a delivery area.

“The scanners that our carriers use to confirm a customer’s delivery include a feature for them to indicate the presence of a dog at an individual address,” said DeCarlo, in a release. “This information is particularly helpful for substitute carriers who fill in for regular carriers on their days off.”

In the release from USPS, DeCarlo gave the following tips and encouraged sharing them using the hashtag #preventdogbites:

• If 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. Some dogs 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 carriers in the presence of the family pet, as the dog may view the person 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 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 carrier is assured the pet has been restrained. If a 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.

According to USPS, insurance company State Farm reports that in 2017 the company paid more than $132 million as a result of more than 3,600 dog-related injury claims.

“The company reinforces that responsible pet ownership and educating children about how to safely interact with dogs is key to reducing dog bites," said Heather Paul, State Farm public affairs specialist., in the USPS report.

For a deeper look into the number of people that are bitten by dogs each year and how much money was paid in insurance claims for dog-related injuries, visit the USPS website and read the entire release.

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