One of the oldest rivalries known to man is still alive and well, as the United States Postal Service shared that more than 5,300 employees were attacked by dogs while delivering the mail in 2022.
The numbers were shared in a recent report from the postal service, which noted that the total number of attacks was fewer than in 2021 when more than 5,400 postal employees were targeted.
USPS Occupational Safety and Health Senior Director Linda DeCarlo shared a statement on the attacks, noting that they're serious and, in some cases, deadly.
While it may not seem like it to owners, belligerent behavior can even come from pets who don’t show signs of aggression otherwise.
“When our mail carriers are bitten, it is usually a ‘good dog’ that had not previously behaved in a menacing way,” DeCarlo said.
The data was released as part of the postal service’s annual National Dog Bite Awareness Week, a time in which it runs a public service campaign meant to raise awareness of attacks on mail carriers.
When it comes to where the attacks happened, the postal service shared that California had the most attacks, at 675, while Texas, New York, and Pennsylvania rounded out the top four.
Even with attacks decreasing from 2021 to 2022, the number in all four of the top states has increased year-over-year.
As for the cities with the most attacks, Houston came in at No. 1, followed by Los Angeles, Dallas, and Cleveland.
The postal service is asking that pet owners take steps to protect postal workers from facing potentially dangerous encounters with their animals.
These steps include keeping dogs inside, behind a fence, or secure on a leash when mail carriers arrive, the postal service shared. It is also recommended that people not let children take mail from postal workers, as protective pets may confuse the situation and think the child is in danger.
“When letter carriers deliver mail in our communities, dogs that are not secured or leashed can become a nemesis and unpredictable and attack,” Leeann Theriault, USPS employee safety and health awareness manager, said in a statement.
In extreme cases, the postal service shared that mail carriers will stop delivering to certain neighborhoods where dogs are aggressive and unrestrained, forcing residents to pick up their mail at a post office.
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