USPS looking out for safety of their carriers

USPS is kicking off their National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign. This year's theme is "Don't let your dog bite the hand that serves you."

Some folks from Anne Arundel County are the stars of the campaign.

Mail carriers can face obstacles as they make their rounds. Dealing with weather and the lifting, walking, reaching. But they face another major threat, dogs.

"Dogs are territorial even the friendliest dog, they're protecting so you're coming up to the house every day and they don't know you, even if they see you every day they know you're not someone who comes into the house,” said Timothy Jackson who is a USPS Letter Carrier.

Jackson on the job for 36 years, knows what he needs to watch out for.

"We have our satchel that we use as a barrier to keep dogs away but we also have dog repellent so we spray if we need,” said Jackson.

Those are the only tools the mail carrier has to use as defense against an issue that's bigger than we realize.

"Each dog bite costs approximately $37,000 per dog bite and the homeowner could be liable essentially for those charges," said Leeann Theriault, USPS Safety Awareness Manager. She said "In 2023 there was over 5,800 dog bites nationally.”

Out of that Maryland had 110 dog bite incidents, 17 of those came from Baltimore. USPS is bringing awareness to these numbers with their campaign.

"The awareness to this campaign is to let our customers know you have to be aware of your kids, where your kids are, where the dog is, cause the dog is very protective of the kids and the home,” said Theriault.

Andy is the trained model dog for the campaign. He and two girls from Anne Arundel County were photographed in situations to look out for when it comes to dogs and postal workers delivering packages.

"Keep them not too close to the door every time the mail person comes. And keep them inside safe they won't run out,” said Lily Plessner who is one of the models for the USPS Dog Bite Awareness Campaign.

"Have them on a leash like hooked up to something in the house or like have someone else holding his collar so he won't jump,” said Cloey Vibbert who is also a model for USPS Dog Bite Awareness Campaign.

Their message is simple, restrain dogs while carriers are delivering the mail.

"Give them commands that they'll listen to, also keep them on a leash, keep them behind a fence, if they're in the house put them in another room that they can lock them in as the carrier is delivering to the door,” said Theriault.

The campaign runs June 2 through the 9th.