This year, the number of dog bites on mail carriers in West Virginia and Kentucky is on the rise, according to Alan Lewis, United States Postal Service (USPS) safety manager for the two states.
The states reported 113 dog bites last fiscal year, which ended in September 2023. This fiscal year, that number has risen to 119, with more than a month to go.
“I need the customers to know that we’re providing a service for them,” Lewis said. “The only way we can provide that service is to be safe.”
For USPS, part of keeping workers safe is training them for the reality of encountering aggressive pets on their delivery routes.
This week, USPS brought trainer Hector Hernandez and his dog Chankla to post offices across the Mountain State to teach them the best practices for handling dogs.
During a Wednesday training session in Martinsburg, tens of Berkeley County mail carriers recounted experiences of being chased or bitten by aggressive dogs.
