Canine assaults on USPS staff rose final yr. These cities noticed essentially the most assaults.
Incidents involving canine assaults in opposition to U.S. Postal Service staff rose to greater than 6,000 instances final yr — a bounce of no less than 200 instances since 2023, the USPS mentioned.
California noticed the best variety of incidents involving canine assaults, with 701 in 2024. Texas ranked second with 438 incidents, adopted by Ohio with 350 incidents, the USPS mentioned in a information launch Thursday.
Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, Missouri and North Carolina rounded out the highest 10 states with essentially the most canine incidents.
Listed below are the highest 10 U.S. cities for canine assaults in 2024, based on the USPS, and the variety of incidents in every metropolis:
- Los Angeles — 77
- Houston — 65
- Chicago — 57
- St. Louis — 47
- Cincinnati — 44
- Dallas — 43
- Kansas Metropolis — 40
- Cleveland — 40
- San Diego — 35
- Denver — 34
Canine homeowners won’t notice their animals can assault a postal employee, however there are steps homeowners can take to make sure the security of a provider and that their mail will not be stopped, the USPS mentioned.
“Canine chew assaults on postal staff are preventable,” Leeann Theriault, USPS worker security and well being consciousness supervisor, mentioned within the USPS information launch, throughout a promotional week to boost consciousness round such incidents.
“One of the best ways to maintain secure from canine assaults is to acknowledge and promote the duty of pet possession, reminiscent of instructing your canine acceptable habits and instructions and never permitting your canine to roam freely,” Theriault mentioned.
The USPS recommends securing canine earlier than the mail provider arrives, as mail is mostly delivered at the same time day by day, or holding a canine secured on a leash whether it is exterior when a provider arrives. It additionally says youngsters shouldn’t take mail immediately from a provider, as a result of the canine might view the particular person as a menace to the kid.
A postal employee from Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, strongly encourages all canine homeowners to take precautions.
“I used to be not too long ago delivering mail and a canine barged via a door and bit me on the wrist, which required me to hunt medical therapy,” Jonah Helfrich mentioned within the USPS information launch.
