Dog Attacks in South Carolina: Mail Carriers At Risk

In order to protect mail delivery and prevent dog bites, the U.S. Postal Service is alerting customers to the areas where dog incidents have occurred to mail carriers during the past fiscal year.

Within the Greater South Carolina District, ZIP Codes 290-6 and 299, there have been 31 dog bite incidents in fiscal year 2014, 10 of those were OSHA reportable accidents requiring medical treatment.

According to safety reports, Greenville has the highest number of dog incidents with 6, followed by Charleston, 3; Anderson, 3; Columbia, 2; Lexington, 2; and Abbeville, 2.  Offices with one incident each include: Bennettsville, Chapin, Cheraw, Gaffney, Gaston, Greenwood, Hilton Head Island, Inman, Irmo, Myrtle Beach, Neeses, Orangeburg, Pacolet, Ridgeville and Woodruff.

The Postal Service provides constant training to employees in order to prevent career-threatening incidents.  However, cooperation from the public is essential to accomplishing this goal.

The American Veterinary Medical Association reports that homeowner insurance claims due to dog bites have gone up more than 50% in the past 10 years. Each dog bite incident cost roughly $28,000 in medical treatments by insurers.  Billions of dollars later, though, does not begin to quantify the harm done by bites from Scamp, Fifi, Princess, Sadie, Rocky and Lola — there are 70 million good dogs, but…ANY DOG CAN BITE.

So far, this year’s dog bite incidents are troubling, as the number of (OSHA) Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported dog attacks and bites among postal employees regularly begin to rise during the months of April, May and June.

Greater South Carolina District Safety Manager Marvin Howard encourages the news media to share the following preventive tips when reporting on this critical issue:

• If a letter carrier delivers mail or packages to your front door, place your dog into a separate room and close the 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 see 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.