HOUSTON – There’s nothing wrong with loving our dogs, but when dog attacks get out of control, it is vital to treat each case with sincerity.
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That’s why the United States Postal Service held a special campaign, on Thursday morning to bring awareness to dog bites. According to a press release, dog attacks increased last year to more than 5,800 cases. In 2023, more than 56 postal workers in Houston were attacked by dogs while on the job.
“The most important parts of this campaign is to get the messaging out, to amplify the messaging for our Houston public, to let them know that we are, you know, trying to reduce the number of dog incidents here in the Houston area,” Nikki Johnson with USPS. “This is something that we do every year, however, in Houston remains to be in the top five positions. And we’re looking to amplify that messaging again to help raise awareness to keep our employees safe out there if they’re doing their normal day-to-day deliveries.”
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The campaign started Sunday, June 2, and will continue on until this Sunday, June 9 with this year’s theme titled: “Don’t let your dog bite the hand that serves you.”
This is certainly echoed by people like Juan Nino, who has been a postal carrier for more than 30 years and has been bitten on the job. He said it’s a traumatic experience but is still dedicated to his job and just wants pet parents/owners to be more careful.
“It’s something that we don’t plan for it, but we do want to make the public aware that we are there every day, sometimes - even on Sundays, we have carrier deliver packages on Sundays,” he said. “We just wanted the people to be aware and if you have a dog, please be responsible. Do what you have to do in order for all carriers to be safe out there and avoid any kind of incident.”
This message does not just apply to postal workers. KPRC 2 has covered reports in the past of dog attacks, including one recently where a sanitation worker suffered serious injuries while picking up trash in front of a home.
SEE ALSO: Expert shares tips to protect against aggressive dogs after 4 attacks in Greater Houston area in past monthSanitation worker attacked by dogs while picking up trash in front of north Houston home
That’s why some postal carriers like Johnny English, reiterate the importance of awareness, because, to him, their dog’s actions or behavior may be overlooked.
“They probably don’t take it seriously that your dog thinks he’s protecting his territory, so he might attack us at any time,” he said. “You can’t really assume that he’s not going to attack unless he’s never, even shown aggression. But if your dog is barking and growling when he’s in the house, he’s probably going to think about it when he sees me - because I’m coming and going each day - so he’s barking as I’m leaving. So when he finally gets out, he might just try to attack me.”
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That actually happened to English in fact on more than one occasion and even tried to warn the owner during one incident, but was still attacked.
“The customer kind of assumed her dog wouldn’t bite, so I would have said, just ‘put the dog back in the house and close the door’ and we could have kept talking, but as she was talking, the dog kept coming at me and I was like, ‘can you grab your dog?’ She was like, ‘Oh, he doesn’t bite,’” he explained. “And he got a little closer to me, growling at me, and I said ‘he looks like he wants to bite me,’ and she was like, ‘No he doesn’t bite’ and then he just lunged at me.”