Dog attacks most frequently occur on small children, the elderly and Postal Service carriers. Dog bites to postal workers continue to rise every year. The USPS reported 29 postal workers were attacked while working in Sacramento county last year.
A total of 5,767 postal employees were attacked by dogs last year. Eighty cities comprise the top 30 rankings.
California has 9 cities in the top 30 rankings as follows:
Los Angeles, CA – ranked #1 with 74 attacks
San Diego, CA – ranked #3 with 53 attacks
Sacramento, CA – ranked #12 with 29 attacks
Long Beach, CA – ranked # 14 with 27 attacks
San Francisco, CA – ranked #18 with 22 attacks
Oakland, CA – ranked #19 with 21 attacks
San Jose, CA – ranked #20 with 20 attacks
Fresno, CA – ranked #23 with 17 attacks
Pasadena, CA – ranked #24 with 16 attacks
Richmond, CA, # 25 with 15 attacks
Riverside, CA #27 with 13 attacks
Chula Vista, CA #29 with 11 attacks
Whittier, CA #30 with 10 attacks
For more information about the top dog attacking city rankings, see the USPS release here.
The postal service provides letter carriers with training on how to respond to dog attacks.
The following tips were released by the U.S. Postal service on the issue:
“If a letter carrier delivers mail or packages to your front door, place your dog in a separate room and close that door before opening the front door. Dogs have been known to burst through screen doors or plate-glass windows to get at strangers.
Dog owners should remind their children about the need to keep the family dog secured. Parents should remind their children not to take mail directly from letter carriers in the presence of the family pet as the dog may view the letter carrier handing mail to a child as a threatening gesture.
The Postal Service places the safety of its employees as a top priority. If a letter carrier feels threatened by a vicious dog or if a dog is running loose, the owner may be asked to pick up the mail at the Post Office until the carrier is assured the pet has been restrained. If the dog is roaming the neighborhood, the pet owner’s neighbors may be asked to pick up their mail at the Post Office as well.”
If you or a loved one has been bitten by a dog, you may be able to recover damages for your injuries and medical bills. The Attorneys at the Edward A Smith Law Offices have over three decades of experience handling dog bite claims. Contact our Sacramento office at (916) 921-6400. If your out of the area contact 1-800-404-5400, www.autoaccident.com. Reviews about our office can be found on Yelp and Avvo.