U.S. Postal Service Releases Dog Attack National Rankings BROOKLYN, NY — The number of postal employees attacked by dogs nationwide fell to 5,714 in 2018 — more than 500 fewer than in 2017 and more than 1,000 fewer since 2016. Today, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) highlights technology that likely helps to reduce potential attacks while releasing its annual list of cities with the most recorded dog attacks. The organization also highlights safety initiatives to help protect its employees and offers tips to pet owners. “Our employees have been great at taking preventative measures against dog attacks, but they need help from our customers, too,” said USPS Safety Director Linda DeCarlo. “We are confident we can keep moving the trends of attacks downward, and ramping up overall awareness for everyone is the best way to do that.” Tips and Technology DeCarlo was in Brooklyn, NY today to kick off National Dog Bite Prevention Week, which runs Sunday, April 14, through Saturday, April 20. According to her, technology supports carrier safety in at least two ways: Mobile Delivery Devices, or scanners, used by carriers to confirm customer delivery, include a feature to indicate the presence of a dog at an individual address. And the Package Pickup application asks customers to indicate if dogs are at their address when they schedule package pickups, which allows USPS to send alerts to those carriers. The Postal Service offers the following safety tips: When a letter 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. Dogs have been known to burst through screen doors or plate glass windows to attack visitors. Parents should remind children and other family members not to take mail directly from letter carriers in the presence of the family pet. The dog may view the letter carrier handing mail to a family member as a threatening gesture. If a letter 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 or another facility until the letter carrier is assured the pet has been restrained. If the 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. To access the video promoting Dog Bite Prevention, please click here. 2018 Dog Attack Rankings by City A total of 5,714 postal employees were attacked by dogs in 2018. The top 20 rankings are comprised of 29 cities, as some cities reported the same number of attacks: Office City Office State CY- 18 CY- 17 1 HOUSTON TX 75 71 2 LOS ANGELES CA 60 67 3 PHILADELPHIA PA 51 27 4 CLEVELAND OH 50 49 5 DALLAS TX 49 40 6 SAN ANTONIO TX 47 44 7 MINNEAPOLIS MN 38 27 8 CHICAGO IL 37 38 8 COLUMBUS OH 37 43 10 FORT WORTH TX 35 26 11 DETROIT MI 34 32 12 SAN DIEGO CA 33 46 13 CHARLOTTE NC 32 27 13 MEMPHIS TN 32 20 15 BALTIMORE MD 31 44 15 DENVER CO 31 35 15 KANSAS CITY MO 31 32 18 ST. LOUIS MO 30 52 19 ALBUQUERQUE NM 29 22 19 SACRAMENTO CA 29 24 21 OAKLAND CA 28 28 22 SEATTLE WA 27 28 23 CINCINNATI OH 24 25 23 MIAMI FL 24 25 23 PHOENIX AZ 24 24 26 LOUISVILLE KY 23 39 27 BROOKLYN NY 22 21 27 LAS VEGAS NV 22 19 27 PORTLAND OR 22 24 A national map with statistics for each city can be accessed at this link. For more data related to your area, please contact your local USPS Corporate Communications professional. National Dog Bite Prevention Week is a registered trademark of the American Veterinary Medical Association. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. Poster’s Comment; From here: As our readers know, police officers killing dogs in the Land of the Free is such a common occurrence that it has its own terminology: puppycide. Despite postal workers, delivery drivers and pizza personnel coming into contact with dogs on a much more regular basis, it’s the police who are in the news because they can kill them with impunity. Postal workers should be allowed to armed in order to shoot dogs that attack them.