How Many Postal Workers Were Attacked by Dogs in 2019?

The number of reported dog attacks on Postal workers has been on the decline in recent years according to the latest data released by the Postal Service.

A total of 5,803 USPS employees were attacked by dogs in 2019. In 2018, 5,714 Postal workers were attacked by dogs; it was 6,244 in 2017 and 6,755 in 2016, so the numbers have been trending downward overall.

The Postal Service says that there are two primary ways that technology it offers helps support employee safety from dog attacks: Mobile Delivery Devices, handheld scanners used by carriers to confirm customer delivery, include a feature to indicate the presence of a dog at an individual address. Also, the Informed Delivery service alerts customers to mail and packages coming to their homes, allowing them to plan for the carrier’s arrival by securing dogs safely.

“Even during these difficult times, it’s important for our customers to understand that letter carriers are still coming to homes daily and need to deliver mail safely,” said USPS Safety Awareness Program Manager Chris Johnson. “We are confident we can keep moving the trends of attacks downward, and ramping up overall awareness for everyone is the best way to do that.”

The list of the top 20 most dangerous cities in terms of dog attacks for Postal employees are included below.

2019 Postal Employee Dog Attack Rankings by City