Dog Attacks On Lakeland Postal Workers Are Stagnant

LAKELAND, FL -- The number of dog attacks on postal workers in Lakeland stayed the same in 2018 amid a nationwide decline, according to new figures released Thursday by the U.S. Postal Service. The Postal Service credited the overall decline to technology improvements that help mail carriers remain safe.

In Lakeland, there were two attacks last year and two in 2017. Nationwide, there were 5,714 postal worker attacks last year, more than 500 fewer than in 2017 and over 1,000 fewer than 2016.

Houston once again saw the highest number of attacks and claimed the dubious No. 1 spot in the rankings with. Postal workers in the city saw four more attacks than the previous year. Los Angeles and Philadelphia rounded out the three cities with the most attacks, with Philadelphia seeing a massive increase in dog attacks from 27 to 51.

Texas, in fact, saw four cities rank in the top 10 last year. Here they are:

1. Houston, Texas — 75
2. Los Angeles, California — 60
3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — 51
4. Cleveland, Ohio — 50
5. Dallas, Texas — 49
6. San Antonio, Texas — 47
7. Minneapolis, Minnesota — 38
8. Chicago, Illinois — 37
9. Columbus, Ohio — 37
10. Fort Worth, Texas — 35

Overall, more mail carriers in California were attacked by dogs than in any other state with 794, followed by Texas with 462 and New York with 339. Ohio and Illinois rounded out the top five with 304 and 273 attacks, respectively.

The report comes amid National Dog Bite Prevention Week, which runs from Sunday through the following Saturday, April 20. The USPS highlighted new technology, including mobile delivery scanners and a package pickup app, that have helped lower the number of attacks.

Carriers use mobile delivery scanners to confirm deliveries. The devices include a feature that indicate there’s a dog at a specified home or business.

The package scheduling pickup app asks customers to indicate whether there are any dogs at their address. If there are, the USPS sends alerts to those carriers.

“Our employees have been great at taking preventative measures against dog attacks, but they need help from our customers, too,” Linda DeCarlo, safety director of the Postal Service, said in a release. “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.”

To keep mail carriers safe, the Postal Service offers a few tips. Before opening the door, customers should put dogs in another room behind a closed door. Parents should inform their kids not to take mail directly from mail carriers when near a dog. And if the mail carrier doesn’t feel safe making a delivery, customers may be asked to pick up their mail from a nearby Post Office.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.