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Postal Workers in Los Angeles Are the Most Attacked By Dogs

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A black and white husky dog being walked on a leash.
Flickr/Runs With Scissors

As more people are buying online and demanding deliveries all days of the week, the chance of a postal worker getting bitten by a dog has increased.

This past year, 6,755 postal employees were attacked by dogs, more than 200 higher than the previous year, according to a report released by the United States Postal Service. It is also the highest number is about three decades.

Los Angeles topped this with a reported 80 bites, followed by Houston (62) and Cleveland (60).

Often, postal workers are vulnerable to attacks as dogs may view them as a threat to their family and stand guard against them.

The release of the report is ahead of National Dog Bite Prevention Week, a weeklong event from Sunday, April 9 through Saturday, April 15.

Related: Mailman Builds Ramp for Senior Dog on His Route

USPS, along with the American Humane and American Veterinary Medical Association, are looking to educate dog owners in order to decrease the 4.5 million people bitten by dogs each year, with half being children.

For those worries if their dogs may snap at a carrier, the USPS did offer some tips:

Let Postal Workers Know You Have a Dog: When creating a package pickup request on the USPS website, indicate you have a dog (option to check) in the “Trip Hazards” section.

Keep Your Dog Away From Postal Workers: If you are accepting a package from a postal employee, put your dog in a separate room.

Talk to Family Members About a Dog Plan: Make sure other family members and children are also on board with not having your dog present when accepting packages.

If a USPS worker feels threatened or sees a dog on the loose in a neighborhood, they could ask a household to pick up their package at a local post office.

“Even good dogs have bad days,” said U.S. Postal Service Safety Director Linda DeCarlo in a statement. “Dog bite prevention training and continuing education are important to keep pet owners, pets and those who visit homes — like letter carriers — happy and healthy.”

Related: A Dog Bite Could Cost Upwards of $56,000. Here Is How to Prevent Them From Occurring.

Check out the list of the top 30 spots:

Rank

City

2016

1

LOS ANGELES

CA

80

2

HOUSTON

TX

62

3

CLEVELAND

OH

60

4

SAN DIEGO

CA

57

5

LOUISVILLE

KY

51

6

DETROIT

MI

48

7

DENVER

CO

47

8

CHICAGO

IL

46

9

INDIANAPOLIS

IN

44

10

MINNEAPOLIS

MN

43

11

SAN ANTONIO

TX

42

12

PORTLAND

OR

41

13

DALLAS

TX

41

14

PHILADELPHIA

PA

40

15

COLUMBUS

OH

39

16

BALTIMORE

MD

36

17

PHOENIX

AZ

35

18

CHARLOTTE

NC

33

18

MEMPHIS

TN

33

18

FORT WORTH

TX

33

19

ST LOUIS

MO

31

19

SEATTLE

WA

31

20

SACRAMENTO

CA

30

20

KANSAS CITY

MO

30

21

BUFFALO

NY

28

22

BROOKLYN

NY

27

23

ST PAUL

MN

26

24

NEW ORLEANS

LA

25

25

CINCINNATI

OH

24

26

WICHITA

KS

23

26

OAKLAND

CA

23

27

LONG BEACH

CA

22

27

FLUSHING

NY

22

28

SAN JOSE

CA

21

28

LAS VEGAS

NV

21

28

AKRON

OH

21

29

OKLAHOMA CITY

OK

20

29

RICHMOND

VA

20

30

FRESNO

CA

19

30

WASHINGTON

DC

19

 

By Andrea Huspeni

Andrea Huspeni is the founder and CEO of This Dog's Life. Her mission it to help dogs live a happier, healthier and longer life. When she isn't working, she spends time with her two dogs, Lola and Milo. She resides in Brooklyn, NY.

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