United States Postal Service announced that the week of June 4th-June 10th is being recognized as National Dog Bite Awareness Week. This comes after USPS sent out a press release informing the public that 5300 dog attacks were reported across the country in 2022.
Out of all 50 states, Washington ranked 11th for most dog attacks against USPS workers in 2022. Pasco came in at number 4 on the list tied with Tacoma with 10 dog attacks, according to a press release from USPS.
While Pasco may not be the largest city in Washington, it has close to the same number of attacks with both Seattle and Spokane reporting 13.
WA Cities/Towns where dog attacks happened in 2022 below:
Washington136SPOKANE13SEATTLE13TACOMA10PASCO10WEST RICHLAND6SPOKANE VALLEY6YAKIMA5KENT3BATTLE GROUND3UNIVERSITY PLACE3PORT ANGELES3ELLENSBURG2LANGLEY2LAKEWOOD2GRANDVIEW2LONGVIEW2WALLA WALLA2SUNNYSIDE2KELSO2TUMWATER2RAYMOND2VANCOUVER2AUBURN2BAINBRIDGE ISLAND2CENTRALIA2PUYALLUP2OMAK2CHEWELAH1WENATCHEE1MOSES LAKE1BOTHELL1YELM1BREMERTON1LYNDEN1PROSSER1NEWMAN LAKE1KALAMA1WOODINVILLE1BURIEN1ANACORTES1RENTON1DEER PARK1ROCHESTER1MAPLE VALLEY1ROY1WAITSBURG1CAMAS1WASHOUGAL1SELAH1OAK HARBOR1SEQUIM1OLYMPIA1SILVERDALE1ZILLAH1LAKE STEVENS1ARLINGTON1
David Coleman, Senior Public Relations Representative for USPS, tells NonStop Local that 6 dog attacks were reported in West Richland and 5 were reported in Yakima.
The theme for this years National Dog Bite Awareness Week is “Even good dogs have bad days”. This week is aimed to help protect mail carriers while also educating pet owners across the country to be mindful of their animals.
“Dogs are just doing what they are supposed to do and that is to protect the owner, the family and the property. The most important thing is just to not open the door when a carrier approaches” says Mike Meredith, Co-Chair of the Washington District Safety Task-Force.
Animal Services Manager for the Tri-Cities Animal Shelter, Ben Zigan, tells NonStop Local about the next steps after animal control is called out to an animal disturbance call.
If you would like to read the city of Pasco’s municipal code in regards to animal control click here.
“It’s important to know that the Postal Service is not anti-dog. There are thousands of dog owners/animal lovers throughout the agency. Dogs by their very nature are protective of their homes and families and will attempt to defend their territory from anyone or anything they feel could be a threat. Dog owners have an important responsibility to control their furry family members to ensure safe mail delivery. We ask customers who have a package or mailpiece which specifically requires a signature to secure their dog in another room. The simple act of handing mail to a customer could be perceived by the dog as a threat to a member of their pack” says Kim Frum, Strategic Communications Specialist for USPS.
