USPS ranks LA No. 2 nationwide in dog bites to mail carriers

USPS dot attacks: LA is No. 2 nationwide

The U.S. Postal Service is asking for help from dog owners to keep mail carriers safe, especially in Los Angeles since the city comes in second nationwide with the most dog bites to letter carriers.

The 2022 dog bite national ranking report released by USPS lists L.A. with 48 bites, and Houston Texas came out on top with 57 dog bites reported.

The USPS is bringing attention to the prevalence of dog bites in hopes to keep letter carriers safe while delivering mail to homes. More than 5,300 Postal Service employees were attacked by dogs while delivering the mail last year.

"Even good dogs have bad days," is this year's theme for the U.S. Postal Service's dog safety awareness campaign which runs June 4 through June 10.

The organization acknowledges that mail carriers know all dogs can bite, even ones perceived as nonaggressive, and generally dogs are protective of their turf.

Since most people know the approximate time their mail is delivered daily, USPS is asking dog owners to keep dogs inside the house or behind a fence around the time of delivery, away from the door or in another room, or on a leash.

And since dogs are generally protective of children, when a dog is near USPS advises not to let children take mail from the letter carrier as a dog may see the carrier as a threat to the child.

National 2022 dog bite rankings released by USPS:

City        State                      Rank

HOUSTON           TX          57           1

LOS ANGELES    CA          48           2

DALLAS               TX          44           3

CLEVELAND        OH         43           4

SAN DIEGO         CA          39           5

CHICAGO             IL           36           6

ST. LOUIS             MO        34           7

KANSAS CITY      MO        33           8

PHOENIX              AZ         32           9

SAN ANTONIO     TX          32           9

DETROIT              MI          30           10

PHILADELPHIA    PA          28           11

LOUISVILLE         KY          26           12

COLUMBUS         OH          23           13

MINNEAPOLIS    MN           22           14

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