When kids stay home from school, dogs are more likely to attack our friendly neighborhood mail carriers. At least that’s what the U.S. Postal Service says in a PSA reminding everyone to extend the shelter-in-place order to their aggressive fur-babies.
“Children rush to the door when they see a mail carrier and the household dog usually follows right behind, leaving the carrier vulnerable to a dog attack,”the announcement reads. “As [USPS] continues to provide an essential service, we want to make sure our carriers are safe and out of harm’s way while making their appointed rounds.”
The advisory urges families to wait until the carrier leaves the area before opening the gate to pick up the mail. “Too many dogs have slipped between an owner’s legs while the door is open and attacking the carrier,”the notice cautions. “Dogs should be restrained and/or kept in another room as mail carriers make personal deliveries.”
WHO may have let the dogs out, according to a quarantine joke that went viral these past couple of weeks, but responsible pet owners need to keep their house-beasts on lock.
> “Too many dogs have slipped between an owner’s legs while the door is open and attacking the carrier,”the notice cautions.
I think a big part of the problem is dog laziness.
Postal carriers are an easy, slow moving target.
Dogs need to do a much better job on home invaders, car burglars, porch pirates. and trespassers.
Maybe the SJPD’s canine units could offer training to the public on how to make civilian dogs into more effective “community service dogs”. If not, I fear we are headed into an era of “dog vigilantism”.
All dogs should be crate trained so that the owner has a secure place to put them when a stranger comes to the door.
Now, why would dogs attack a mailman? Because the mailman comes to the door every day, and the owner never lets him in. He is not a friend, but a failed intruder, in the dog’s mind. Certainly a suspicious character. If dogs had access to NextDoor, they would be reporting the mailman all the time.
The post office could help eliminate the problem by letting homeowners know when the mailman is likely to come by. Our regular letter carrier comes within a half hour window, so we could prepare for it, if we needed to, but the relief carrier might come at any time of the day.