USPS Dog Bite Awareness Week Kicks Off May 30 In Wayne

WAYNE, PA — The United States Postal Service is about to kick off Dog Bite Awareness Week in Wayne, sharing prevention tips and tactics that mail carriers use.

Officials will launch the week at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, May 30 at the USPS Southeastern PA Sorting and Distribution Center, 1000 W. Valley Road in Wayne.

The annual National Dog Bite Awareness Week campaign is being supported by Dog Training Elite of Greater Philadelphia founder Betsy Feaster and development director Kelley Rosequist, who will share dog bite prevention tips and provide a demonstration of dog bite prevention tactics employed by mail carriers.

More than 5,800 USPS mail carriers were attacked by dogs in the United States in 2023, officials said. Thirty-four attacks occurred in Philadelphia and 334 in Pennsylvania last year,

Officials said Philadelphia is the ninth-highest city for dog attacks, and Pennsylvania is the fourth-highest state in the nation for dog attacks.

Both figures are increases from the previous year.

5,800 mail carriers were attacked by dogs nationwide in 2023.

Joining Feaster and Rosequist are USPS Senior Director of Occupational Safety & Health Linda DeCarlo, Germantown Post Office letter carrier safety task force member Leslie Berner, and letter carrier Tara Martin, who was recently attacked by a dog and required 16 stitches.

National Dog Bite Awareness Week is June 2 to June 9. It is a USPS-sponsored public service campaign that offers safety tips and emphasizes the need for increased owner responsibility in the prevention of dog attacks.

Its theme this year is "Don’t Let Your Dog Bite the Hand That Serves You."