With 6,000 dog bites reported, U.S. Postal Service expands dog safety campaign

After over 40 years on the job at the United States Postal Service, Paul Smith has seen his fair share of dog bites.

Smith was a postal carrier for 16 years before moving to the communications department, where he was promoted to the eastern area corporate communications manager in 2003. Smith said he still remembers the fear when he was bitten by a dog while on his local route.

“I remember his whole mouth,” Smith said. “You could see it on my skin, just the whole upper teeth and bottom teeth, and it was, Oh, man. It was so, so sore. It was just raw.” 

According to U.S. Postal Service rankings, there were 6,088 dog bite incidents in 2024, the highest in the last seven years. Pennsylvania accounts for 316 of those incidents, 32 occurring in the City of Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania ranked sixth among states for dog bite incidents, just behind New York. Philadelphia placed twelfth among cities. Smith said, given Pennsylvania’s smaller size, it’s surprising the state ranks so high.

Smith said the postal service wanted to place greater emphasis on dog safety by expanding its annual National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign to a full month, after dog bites rose by 5% from 2023 to 2024. 

In prior years, the campaign was a week-long; however, the issue remains a year-long priority. 

The campaign aims to spread awareness and remind owners to follow safety tips, ensuring postal workers' safety. This year's slogan is “Secure Your Dog, Keep Deliveries on Track.” 

Dog attacks remain a significant issue for postal employees, as those who have been bitten can attest. However, many postal workers are still dog-lovers, Smith said. He said the postal service is “pro-dog but anti-attack.”

“They're accidents, but every accident is preventable,” Smith said. “You know, 99.99% of owners certainly don't want their dog to bite the carrier. But again, with that comes responsibility.”

All U.S. Postal Service employees are trained to stay alert around dogs and defend themselves using tools like pepper spray and their satchel for protection.

Mail carriers can use their satchels to guard their body during a dog attack. This staged photo was taken as part of the postal service's dog safety campaign. (Credit: USPS)Smith said he was caught off guard during the attack. After delivering the mail and walking away, a dog jumped on him from behind and bit his thigh. After he realized what had happened, he used his satchel to defend himself and backed away slowly.

“Dogs are instinctual. A lot of them just want to protect their owners,” Smith said. “So anytime a mailman comes, immediately the dog starts barking, right? And then, if the door is not secure, if the fence is not secure … they are going to try to protect, and unfortunately, they do that by attacking.” 

After the incident, the postal service had to pause deliveries for the whole street, and neighbors were notified, Smith said. Residents would have to pick up their mail directly from the post office. This is common if a dog poses a threat to carriers and often disrupts the whole delivery cycle, Smith said. 

Another former mail carrier, Amanda Salen, said, despite being a dog person, she struggled coming back to work after being attacked by a dog on her route. 

Salen said she had noticed an open apartment door while delivering mail, but she didn’t realize they had a dog until she turned around. 

“I just looked at him, I said, ‘Hey, boy.’ I didn't panic or anything. I like dogs, so I didn't think anything was going to happen,” Salen said. “But for some reason, I had this weird vibe all of a sudden, and I was right, because he lunged at me.”

Salen said the dog attacked her satchel first, which she used to shield the rest of her body. She couldn’t reach her dog spray in time because it was buried under a pile of mail.

Salen was out for a month with 31 initial stitches. A week after they were put in, she had them removed because a second doctor said the injury needed air.   

"It was really traumatizing, actually reliving that," Salen said. "I felt it was worse than the initial whole process when it all happened."

After recovering, Salen decided she wanted to share her story to raise awareness about dog safety. At her current position as a part-time, flexible clerk in Pine Grove, she helps ensure carriers keep dog spray easily accessible,  ideally clipped to their chest, and hopes her efforts help reduce attacks across Pennsylvania and nationwide.

“It takes both the postal employees as well as our customers to get those numbers down,” Salen said.

A staged photo shows what can happen on a mail carriers route. (Credit: USPS)

The postal service also sets up dog warning cards or scanners to warn carriers about certain dogs. If a dog has escaped before or the fence looks loose, all postal workers will know to be extra alert and cautious around that house. 

Customers can also sign up for Informed Delivery—a new feature which allows people to see what packages and mail are coming at what time on what day, so they can prepare. Oftentimes, people will let their dog out thinking a mail carrier is done, which often creates problems, Salen said. 

Another issue is when children answer the door. Salen said dogs are often more protective around children, and it’s easier for them to slip out the door. 

The U.S. Postal Service website explains other ways owners can help with mail delivery safety, including keeping dogs in a separate room when the mail arrives and ensuring all gates and doors are secure.  

“It's just the responsibility of keeping your dog restrained in your yard,” Salen said. “As a dog owner myself, I get it. It's hard.” 

In the past decade, the U.S. Postal Service has added over 11 million new addresses to its delivery routes,  increasing the risks of dog bites, Smith said. The goal of extending the campaign to a full month is to help reduce those incidents.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, one in every three American households owns at least one dog, putting mail carriers at a greater risk every year. 

Despite the attack, Salen said being a mail carrier remains her favorite job, and the experience has only motivated her to stay involved and keep moving up.