The U.S. Postal Service is using new technology to try to keep the number of dog bites down on postal routes.
Two new safety measures will help alert postal carriers about dogs. Dan Corral is the Postmaster of Boise. He says when customers sign up to use USPS.com’s package pickup application, they’ll be asked if they have a dog. And starting later this month, the Post Office will use special package scanners to warn of problem dogs at specific residences.
“On those addresses that we have dog problems with or known aggressive dogs, we’ll be able to put that information into these scanners. So when our letter carrier gets up to an area that we have a known problem with, it will alert that carrier on that scanner,” says Corral.
Last year, 13 Idaho postal carriers were attacked by dogs. So far this year, 11 have been attacked. Corral attributes some of the increase to more people, and their dogs, moving to Idaho.
“We have a lot of growth, we have a lot of new people moving in and I think with the increase of people we get an increase of pets,” says Corral.
Corral says most dog bites happen when a carrier delivers a package or letter to the front door. As the customer opens the door, their dog will often push through and bite the carrier.
Corral says dog owners should put their dog in a separate room before they open the door up to the postal carrier. And he advises keeping dogs from running loose, especially in the summer, when the postal carrier is in the neighborhood, to avoid confrontations.
Carriers are taught to use their mail satchel as a barrier between themselves and a dog. They also carry dog pepper spray, but Corral says that’s a last resort to try and stop a bite from happening.
If there’s a continuing program with an aggressive dog, USPS will hold the owner's mail at the post office for pick up, until the problem can be fixed.
Find Samantha Wright on Twitter @samwrightradio
Copyright 2016 Boise State Public Radio