LA Dog attack central

Cole LaCroix

Last week the United States postal office sent out an annual report on postal men who were attacked by dogs during their postal run. The number of attacks jump up a staggering 200 more than in 2015. The amount of attacks in 2015 was 6,549, which already seems large but in 2016, there were 6,755 attacks. The city with the most attacks was Los Angeles, California. The city topped the list of dog attacks with 88 attacks on local postal workers. The US postal security director Linda Decarlo stated, “Some of these carriers are just never the same after that. If you’ve experienced a dog attack, even little kids, they’re then afraid of dogs,” That is a loss of 88 postal workers because the owner of the dog, if the dog has an owner, could not control it.

However, that is not the only reason so many strays attack people, and not just postal workers. It could be because the dog has rabies or has a hatred for humans which causes them to attack. Some of the attacks are in self-defense of the dog’s home and the family who raised them. The postal workers are taught not to fear dogs that defend their homes but even without being afraid of the dog, they are still attacked.

There are ways to prevent the attacks and some are simple, like putting your dog in another room before answering the door of your house. If the dog is an outside dog, then put him in the backyard rather than the front. This allows the postal workers to get in and out without the fear of an attack. If the dog is a more aggressive and violent dog breed used solely for house defense, keep the dog on a short lease and away from the front door. Never hit or harm your dog because it could cause more of a negative response to postal workers and humans overall.