Houston Tops Chicago In Dog Attacks On Mail Workers

The rivalry between Chicago and Houston over which is the country's unofficial No. 3 city behind New York and Los Angeles might just be getting a little too serious. It's one thing for Houston to commission its own "bean" sculpture. But maybe it's taking things too far when the Texas town has to beat out Chicago — and 28 other cities — in the number of postal employees attacked by dogs.

Houston earned that distinction for 2017 thanks to 71 canine attacks on postal workers in the city, the U.S. Postal Service released Thursday. In comparison, Chicago ranked 10th with only 38 dog attcks on USPS employees in 2017.

And Houston wasn't satisfied at simply being No. 1 last year. While Chicago saw a decrease in dog attacks — the city had eight fewer incidents in 2016 — Houston actually had an increase. In 2016, the city tallied 62 dog attacks.

Overall, 6,244 U.S. postal workers were attacked by dogs in 2017, according to the mail agency. That total was down by more than 500 fewer attacks from the previous year.

The following are the top 11 cities — the complete list of 30 cities has a few ties — for dog attacks on postal workers in 2017, according to the USPS. The numbers in parentheses indicate attacks in 2016:

1. HOUSTON: 71 (62)

2. Los Angeles: 67 (80)

3. St. Louis: 52 (31)

4. Cleveland: 49 (60)

5. San Diego: 46 (57)

6 (tied). Baltimore: 44 (36); San Antonio: 44 (42)

7. Columbus, Ohio: 43 (39)

8. Dallas: 40 (41)

9. Louisville, Kentucky: 39 (51)

10. CHICAGO: 38 (46)

The USPS released these findings in advance of National Dog Bite Prevention Week, which runs Sunday, April 8, through Saturday, April 14. The postal service — along with the American Humane, the American Veterinary Medical Association, Insurance Information Institute and State Farm Insurance — are using the week to raise awareness about dog bites and what can be done to prrevent them.

“We’re encouraged by the decrease in dog attacks,” U.S. Postal Service Safety Director Linda DeCarlo said in a statement. “The totals are still too high, but we’re confident that with continuing education and dog bite prevention training, along with advancing technology, we can keep more people safe and keep attacks trending downward.”

DeCarlo offered the following tips and suggestions for dog owners when it comes to keeping pets and postal workers safe:

• If a carrier delivers mail or packages to the front door, keep dogs in a separate room and close that door before opening the front door. Some dogs burst through screen doors or plate-glass windows to attack visitors. Dog owners should keep the family pet secured.
• Parents should remind their children and other family members not to take mail directly from carriers in the presence of the family pet, as the dog might view the person handing mail to a family member as a threatening gesture.
• If a carrier feels threatened by a dog, or if a dog is loose or unleashed, the owner might be asked to pick up mail at a post office until the carrier is assured the pet has been restrained. If a dog is roaming the neighborhood, the pet owner’s neighbors also might be asked to pick up their mail at the local post office.

Go to the U.S. Postal Service's website for the complete list of 30 cities.

Photo via Shutterstock