Michigan Ranks High in Most Dog Attacks on Postal Workers in U.S.

Throughout history there have been countless stories of dog attacks. Some are just scary stories with happy endings, while others end with doctor/hospital visits, or worse.

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But what do you do when your job requires you to be at potential risk of a dog attack on a daily basis? Well, the United States Postal Service addressed this question and came up with a plan to help diminish the 'dog attack stats' across the country.

According to Patch, Michigan ranks #8 when it comes to dog attacks on Postal Office Letter Carriers with 206 attacks reported in 2022. Although this number showed some improvement from the 244 attacks in 2021, even one is one too many.

How Does the U.S. Postal Service Combat this Issue? 

After many ideas were presented, the one that stuck (no pun intended) was a simple 'sticker program' now commonly known as the Paw Program.

Implemented in several cities across the United States since it started in 2020, the program uses a color-coded system to inform mail carriers, who may not be familiar with the route, which houses have dogs.

A yellow paw sticker means there is a potentially dangerous dog living in a home nearby, while an orange paw sticker indicates that there is a potentially dangerous dog living at that home.

What To Do If You Find a Paw Sticker on Your Mailbox

The easy answer is absolutely nothing. Just leave it there and forget about it. After all, to you it's just a sticker. But to postal workers, it is a sticker that could potentially save someone from great bodily harm, or worse. As the United States Postal Service says,

'There are good dogs and bad dogs everywhere you go. But even good dogs have bad days.'

So, if a small paw sticker on a mailbox can prevent these unfortunate events, that's a good thing.