Sacramento ranked 16th in dog attacks on mail carriers

Sacramento ranked 16th in the nation in the number of attacks on postal carriers by dogs last year.

The rankings by the U.S. Postal Service released Thursday showed Sacramento had 31 dog attacks in 2015. That’s two more carriers bitten than in 2014.

A total of 6,549 postal employees were attacked by dogs last year in the nation. The city with the most dog attacks was Houston, which had 77.

“Dogs are protective in nature and may view our letter carriers handing mail to their owner as a threat,” said Linda DeCarlo, USPS safety director.

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.

Meanwhile, the Postal Service announced that later this spring mobile devices that carriers use to scan packages to confirm delivery will include a way to allow carriers to indicate the presence of a dog at an address. The feature will be valuable for fill-in carriers not acquainted with where dogs are on a route.

Tips from the Postal Service for dog owners:

▪ If a letter carrier delivers packages to your home, place your dog in a closed room before opening the front door.

▪ Children should not take mail directly from letter carriers in the presence of their dog because the pooch may view the letter carrier handing mail to a child as a threatening gesture.

This story was originally published May 12, 2016 at 7:52 AM with the headline "Sacramento ranked 16th in dog attacks on mail carriers."