The 10 states where dogs have attacked postal workers the most

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There is a golden rule that every postman follows: If you don’t feel safe, don’t deliver.

Tara Snyder was unaware she was in danger as she walked her usual 10-mile mail delivery route in Nesquehoning, Pennsylvania, on April 15.

Snyder was working overtime on a day with “a lot” of mail when she went to the porch of a house around 4 p.m. where a signature was required.

As she approached the door, “a German Shepherd mix suddenly pushed through the screen door and came straight toward me,” Snyder said.

This was the only dog ​​attack Snyder has endured in the seven years she’s been delivering the mail — but dog bites are common in her profession, and they’re on the rise. There were 5,800 dog attacks on USPS employees in 2023, up from 5,300 in 2022, according to agency data.

It jumped at her so aggressively that it broke the metal buckle of her bag. Instinctively, she used her bag “as a shield” and held it in front of her, but her right hand was badly bitten and bleeding.

The homeowners called an ambulance and Snyder was taken to the hospital, where she received 16 stitches – joining the statistics of injured postal workers.

California leads the list of states with the highest number of dog attacks on mail carriers by a wide margin: 727 incidents were reported there in 2023. Five cities in the state also rank among the top 20 cities where dog attacks on the USPS have occurred.

California was followed by Texas with 411 incidents and Ohio with 359. Snyder’s home state of Pennsylvania is in fourth place.

The statistics were released as part of the USPS’s national dog bite awareness campaign, an initiative designed to encourage dog owners to get their dogs to safety before the mailman arrives.

Snyder’s encounter with the dog serves as a warning example to other mail carriers.

The incident put her out of work for a month, Snyder recalled. Her hand injury left her unable to drive, so she worked “light” shifts – which still meant eight-hour workdays – and trained new porters.

She finally returned to full duty on May 24, but noted, “I’m a little more cautious.”

She was physically and mentally scarred, she said The Independent that “I’m on guard against all dogs at the moment.”

She is not the only one. Other USPS delivery workers have documented their gruesome experiences online.

A worker experienced an attack on his first day as a mail carrier. “I was bitten three times by a German Shepherd. I lost my pants and bled profusely. Then I stood there trying to pull them up because I didn’t want to be caught dead with my butt hanging out,” the mail carrier wrote in the USPS Community Facebook group. “I’m fine, just in shock.”

Another delivery driver complained about the cruelty that comes with delivering mail to careless dog owners. “I’m really sick of hearing ‘my dog ​​is friendly’ or ‘he/she doesn’t bite’. Whether your dog is friendly or not, the rule is not to get out of the car with an unsecured dog, especially if it’s barking and growling.”

The delivery driver added: “Just because the dog doesn’t bite you doesn’t mean it won’t bite me. I’m not going to risk that.”

Snyder also mentioned this USPS policy: “If an animal is outside, you do not have to deliver it.”

The USPS website posted a list of “Dog Attack Prevention Tips for Mail Carriers,” recommending everything from shaking the gate before entering a fenced property to bringing dog repellent, which Snyder described as “pepper spray for dogs.”

In addition to these preventive measures, the federal agency also has a warning system so that transport companies can report all dog attacks, including near-attacks, to their superiors.

Once the wearer and dog reach a certain distance from the property, she receives an alert via a handheld scanner that “there is a potentially aggressive dog in the area,” Snyder explained. She said the system allows her to approach those specific properties with more caution.

Failure to observe these precautions can also have negative consequences for the dog owner.

The USPS noted that if a postal worker is injured by a dog, “the owner may be held liable for the employee’s medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs, and pain and suffering.” According to the Insurance Information Institute, the average insurance claim for a dog bite is $58,545.

To ensure her own safety, Snyder has taken some safety precautions of her own. She said she has instructed dog owners to place their mailbox, if they have one, outside the fence and to “make sure their dog is safe at all times — even when they’re in the house.”

She added, “And maybe put a second lock on the screen door.”