US Postal Service Releases Annual Dog Bite National Rankings

California and Texas are named as the states with the highest number of dog bites against US Postal Service (USPS) employees, the mail company reveals on Sunday, June 04.

The annual dog bite national rankings was released to shed light to the common safety concern that USPS employees in the field often experience: aggressive dog behavior.

Last year, more thank 5,300 USPS employees were attacked by dogs across the country while delivering the mail.

According to the rankings, California had the most dog bites in 2022 with 675. Texas came in next with 404 dog bites, and New York was not far behind with a total of 321 dog bites.

Furthermore, Houston ranked as the highest city with the most dog attacks in 2022 with 57. While Los Angeles and Dallas respectively ranked second and third with 48 and 44 dog attacks.

In the press release, it was revealed that many attacks came from dogs whose owners regularly stated, “My dog won’t bite.”

USPS Occupational Safety and Health Senior Director Linda DeCarlo said in a press release, “When our mail carriers are bitten, it is usually a ‘good dog’ that had not previously behaved in a menacing way.”

She continued saying, “In 2022, too many aggressive dogs impacted the lives of our employees while delivering the mail.”

The press release not only revealed the dog bite rankings but also provided important information for dog owners on how to help make mail delivery safe.

USPS also revealed that while their letter carriers are attentive and properly trained to deal with aggressive dogs, they can halt mail delivery if they feel unsafe.

The rankings kicked off USPS’ Dog Bite Awareness Week, which is a campaign that raises awareness for the safety of the mail company’s letter carriers.

This year, the campaign runs from June 04 to June 10 with the theme “Even good dogs have bad days” and the hashtag #dogbiteawareness