The United States Postal Service has a new request: Please, please, keep your pandemic puppies on a leash.
A new report released by the agency this week, which just so happens to be National Dog Bite Awareness Week, found that more than 5,800 postal workers were bit by dogs during delivery runs last year. The point of the report was simple: Any dog, no matter how friendly or well-behaved it appears, can become aggressive.
These are animals, after all.
“From nips and bites to vicious attacks, aggressive dog behavior poses a serious threat to postal employees and the general public,” the USPS said.
The Postal Service also shared the cities and states with the most dog attacks. Houston topped the list of cities, with Chicago and Los Angeles not too far behind.
What qualifies as a dog attack, however, is unclear. A public relations representative for USPS said the agency considers an unwelcome encounter with a dog as an attack if a postal worker submits an injury claim or simply tells their adviser they were attacked. And just because an employee says they were attacked doesn’t mean they were bit or even chased. An “attack” could be something as benign as a dog barking at the door while its owner answers it.
What you considered your companion to tide you through stay-at-home orders is, nonetheless, a descendant of a wolf. Territorial instincts are baked into Fido’s DNA, which makes things perilous for strangers showing up at your front door.
The Postal Service said it has implemented a few new policies to help its workers avoid pets they consider to be dangerous. Letter carriers are now able to pinpoint the location of an aggressive dog along their delivery route using their handheld scanners, and if that dog continues to be a problem, USPS said its workers have been instructed not to deliver packages to the house in question.
So, if you’re waiting desperately for your latest issue of Vogue or that new pair of Jimmy Choos to arrive, keep your dog in check. You never know what Fido might do.
