Pet owners: Your pooch could cost you your mail
Related video: What does the U.S. Postal Service do with lost mail?
(SOUTHERN COLORADO) — The U.S. Postal Service is reminding individuals to keep Fido away from the mail carrier, to keep both the mail carrier and USPS carriers safe.
June is National Dog Bite Awareness Month. In 2024, more than 6,000 employees were attacked by dogs, with Pueblo and Colorado Springs having a total of 14 dog bites last year alone.
Brenda Brown, a carrier technician at the Mountain Post office, spoke more about her experience as a carrier. Brown said she has five routes, and there are a 'lot of dogs' on each one.
'When you are out walking, you just have to be really aware of your surroundings because you never know when a dog is going to come out and approach you,' said Brown. 'So, you've got to be very cautious at all times.'
The cost of a dog attack can be expensive for a dog owner, as they could be responsible for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs, and pain and suffering for the employee.
In Brown's experience, she was once bitten by a large dog. She described it as the dog 'nipping' her. 'Luckily, it didn't do more damage,' Brown said.
USPS urges individuals to secure their pets even if they have a fence. Brown said mail carriers are advised to shake fences if there is one to assure there is not a dog in the vicinity, and carry dog spray in case it is needed.
'Everybody's impulses are, 'I'm going to run,' but you can't because that's an instinct for the dog to come after you,' said Brown. 'Whether or not they want to play nice or not, you can't make that assumption; you've got to be protective of yourself at all times.'
Animal Law Enforcement Lieutenant Kelly Napieralski advises throwing something away from you if a dog approaches you, as it can diminish the threat of a dog bite. As for treats, they could be useful for also throwing them to the side and distracting the dog, but Napieralski warns that it could also backfire.
'You run the risk of a dog who is food aggressive or just likes to resource guard, whether it's food or other items,' Napieralski said. 'Additionally, you could be looking into an animal who has allergies, you could cause harm, not realizing it, so I think the disadvantages outweigh the advantages when trying to use treats.'
Napieralski also advises keeping the dogs extremely secure and even crate training.
She added that if a dog bites someone or if the animal is at large, the 911 dispatcher will get in contact with animal control, who will then meet with the individual responsible for the pet, take a report, and begin an investigation.
'There may be a history at that address, and there may be some action that needs to be taken legally but additionally, rabies is a risk, we want to make sure that the animals are vaccinated and that the community stays safe but we also want to prevent this from happening in the future.'
Besides being costly, a dog bite or an unsecured dog that makes a carrier feel unsafe could stop an individual's mail service until the carrier feels safe enough to restart delivery.
More information can be found on HSPPR.org under the Animal Law Enforcement tab.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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