It’s a hazard of the job.

Last year, incidents involving dog attacks on Postal Service employees rose to more than 5,800 cases. The greatest number of incidents was in California, where 727 dog attacks on letter carriers were reported. Texas followed that with 411, then Ohio with 359 and Pennsylvania with 334.

“Letter carriers are exposed to potential hazards every day, none more prevalent than a canine encounter. All it takes is one interaction for a letter carrier to possibly suffer an injury,” said Leeann Theriault, USPS Manager, Employee Safety and Health Awareness.

In addition to being dangerous, dog attacks can also be expensive. According to the most recent information from the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost per insurance claim for a dog bite is $64,555. When a postal worker suffers an injury, the owner could find themselves responsible for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs, and pain and suffering for the employee.

What can you do?

There are steps you can take to prevent an animal attack on your property.

Dogs are generally protective of their turf, so it’s important animals are secured before a carrier approaches your property to minimize risk. USPS also recommends that children not take mail directly from a letter carrier as the dog may view the postal worker as a threat to the child and then attack.

Letters carriers are also trained to deal with animals and be alert for potentially dangerous conditions. Carriers will make a non-threatening noise or rattle a fence to alert a dog if they are entering the yard and so as not to startle the animal. They are also taught to defend themselves by placing something – such as mail sack – between themselves and an attacking animal.’

There’s also a dog alert feature on carriers’ handheld scanners to remind them of a possible hazard and dog warning cards are used during sorting to alert carriers of addresses where there could be delivery problems.

If a carrier feels unsafe, mail service can be safe and the dog owner would have to pick up mail at the post office until it’s safe to resume delivery. If the unsafe situation continues, the owner can be required to rent a post office box in order to receive mail.