Posties bite back after another year of dog attacks

From April 2011 to April 2012, 55 postmen and women were attacked by canines within the postcode area, and now Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union are attempting to raise awareness of the reality of dog attacks through targeted campaigns.
The postal service has already spent more than £100,000 highlighting the issue and the purchase of ‘posting pegs’ equipment which protects the finger of postmen and women pushing mail through letterboxes.
An appeal has now been made to dog owners to keep animals under control when the post arrives over the next few weeks as the number of attacks usually peak during the school holidays when parents and children are at home with dogs sometimes allowed unsupervised in the garden
Measures to improve the safety of our people We regularly communicate with our people about the dangers of dog attacks and provide advice to our postmen and women on techniques to minimise harm in the event of an attack.
The director of safety for Royal Mail in the south west, Senol Ali, said: “Clearly most dogs are not inherently dangerous, however, even the most placid animal can be prone to attack if it feels its territory is being threatened.
“However, even just being threatened by an unrestrained pet is a frightening situation for our delivery staff and we would appeal to owners to keep their pets under control, especially if they know their pets have a territorial nature.”
A spokesman for the Communication Workers Union, Dave Joyce, added: “The age old image of the dog attacking the postman is not a laughing matter.
"Thousands of our members are bitten every year and hundreds suffer debilitating injuries every year which leave them with physical and psychological scarring, some with life changing disabilities and all in the course of doing their job.
“There are so many things that dog owners can do to reduce the likelihood of an attack taking place so we strongly urge all dog owners to look at these top tips. Prevention is always better than the cure when it comes to dog attacks so we hope that all dog owners will take a moment to check where their pet is, especially over the summer holidays when attacks increase.”