Postal Service lists worst cities for dog attacks. Here’s where Kansas City ranks

James Benson, a U.S. Postal Service letter carrier in Kansas City, Kansas, knocked on a customer’s door to pick up a package. When a young child answered the door, a dog burst out of the home and bit his arm. Benson was knocked to the ground. The dog lunged again and bit him on his face.

In a recent press release, the Postal Service used Benson’s experience to draw awareness to its campaign “Be Aware: Any Dog Can Bite,” to promote safety for its employees.

The service recently released its annual ranking of cities with the most dog attacks on mail carriers. Out of 47 cities on the list, Kansas City came in No. 12 with 32 dog attacks in 2020. The Shawnee Mission area tied with Dayton, Ohio, and Charlotte, North Carolina, for No. 19, with 19 dog attacks each.

“From nips and bites to vicious attacks, aggressive dog behavior poses a serious threat to postal employees and the general public,” the service said in a press release.

Newer neighborhoods tend to have mailboxes clustered in a central unit, reducing the risk of dog attacks, said Mark Inglett, spokesman for the Kansas City postal service.

Older neighborhoods tend to have individual mailboxes for each home or mail slots at front doors, so mail carriers must approach each property to deliver mail.

The number of packages the service delivered in 2020 grew 32% as more people shopped online during the pandemic. The top five cities for dog attacks were Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Cleveland and Denver.

The Postal Service asks dog owners to keep pets inside the house, restrained or behind the fence when mail carriers arrive. Children should not take mail from a letter carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat.

“Get to know the typical time that the carrier comes around to deliver and keep the dog contained until after the time,” said Steve Diamond, a Postal Service supervisor in Kansas City.

Diamond has worked for the Postal Service for 38 years as a carrier, facilitator for the carrier academy, supervisor and more. Once when he was delivering mail, a dog leaped from under the bushes and started growling. He immediately dropped his satchel, sprayed dog repellent and ran back to his vehicle.

“If we see one that’s really aggressive, we won’t go onto the property. Sometimes they’re aggressive and they’re loose, they’re not chained up. So we may have to pass that address and move onto the next one,” Diamond said.

If the problem recurs, mail carriers will fill out a dog warning card that specifies the address, time of delivery, mailbox location and the size, color and breed of the dog as a reminder. Sometimes the service will curtail delivery for the home or the neighborhood until there’s no longer a threat.

“Many people feel their dog won’t bite, but the dogs instinctively are protecting their owners and doing what comes natural,” Inglett said.

Mail carriers are trained to watch and make noise so the dog doesn’t feel caught off guard. They refrain from petting or feeding the dog, they place their mail satchel between themselves and an aggressive dog, and they use dog repellent if necessary. Injuries from dog attacks can sometimes require rehabilitation or surgery. The dog owner is responsible for these medical costs.

“After we’ve been doing this job for a while we become part of the community,” Diamond said. “Just as they know us, and they’ll take care of us. But we’re developing that relationship, and in doing so, I really hope that they will keep their animals put up.”