322 postal workers bitten by dogs in New York last year. 83 were on Long Island.
Newly released data from the United States Postal Service shows there were 322 dog bite incidents across New York state in 2024, with 83 occurring in Long Island.
New York ranked fifth on the list of states with the most dog bite incidents, following California, Texas, Ohio and Illinois.
Officials say most of the dog bites are accidental, but even so, a safety campaign is now underway to inform dog owners of the dangers and responsibilities.
Pet owners urged to keep an eye on dogs around mail carriers
A new month-long National Dog Bite Awareness Campaign, aimed at dog owners, highlights the real risk to mail carriers. The USPS recently provided a dramatic demonstration to letter carriers in Detroit and are urging nationwide pet owner cooperation.
"Dog bites are one of our highest impact accidents for the United States Postal Service," Ronkonkoma Acting Postmaster Michael Salvatore said.
Salvatore says dog owners should keep their pets within their property line.
"Never let your dog out loose," he said.
Long Island dog owner Jen Muroff said even her calm Siberian Husky can get overly protective.
"With the screen door, I always make sure that it's locked 'cause the dogs can jump out," she said.
Mail carriers share their frightening encounters with dogs
Mail carrier Heather Gigliotti said she sometimes has trepidation when she's out on the streets.
"I've been out on the route probably over 20 years, so I know where the dogs are," she said.
She was attacked delivering a package in Ronkonkoma.
"The homeowner just opened the door, and the dog rushed out and it grabbed a hold of my arm," she said. "It was very frightening ... Luckily, I had just gotten a tetanus shot."
Mail carrier Diana Villatoro also had a traumatic encounter with a dog in Hicksville.
"I tried to turn slowly and the dog came towards my hand, had my hand in his mouth," she said. "Unfortunately because it was a stray dog, I needed rabies shots and I had to get two stitches in my hand, but we persevere on."
Since then, she has become an advocate for safety.
Some mail carriers have dog repellent as a last resort, along with other devices to protect them.
There are also carrier cards that instruct workers, "Do not deliver mail if you feel endangered by an animal." Postal carriers can fill out the address, description of the dog and dog's name to report a dangerous dog.
The USPS is hoping to spread awareness and make 2025 a safer year for letter carriers on Long Island.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
‘I Want to Clear My Name': Deported Migrant Takes First Step to Sue the U.S.
A Venezuelan migrant took the first step on Thursday toward suing the United States for what he says was his wrongful detention and removal to a notorious prison in El Salvador. Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel, 27, spent four months in the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT, where he said he was beaten and abused. He filed an administrative claim on Thursday with the Homeland Security Department, accusing U.S. immigration agencies of removing him without due process. It is the first such claim to be filed by one of the 252 Venezuelan men who were expelled and sent to El Salvador in March, his lawyers said, and is a necessary step before taking legal action against the U.S. government in federal court. Mr. Rengel, who is seeking $1.3 million in damages, was released last week as part of a large-scale prisoner swap between Venezuela and the United States. He is now living in Venezuela. 'I want to clear my name,' he said in a phone interview late Wednesday from his home in the state of Miranda. 'I am not a bad person.' The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately comment on Mr. Rengel's claim. The detention of Venezuelan men in El Salvador in March was one of the first high-profile efforts to fulfill President Trump's campaign promise of mass deportations. His administration has accused the migrants of belonging to a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, and his administration has used the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely invoked wartime law, to justify capturing and removing many of the men to El Salvador. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Bloomberg
2 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Trump Ally Sues Powell Demanding FOMC Meeting Public Access
An investment firm headed by a supporter of President Donald Trump sued Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell and other Fed officials demanding public access to monetary policy meetings. James Fishback's Azoria Capital said in a suit filed Thursday that the decades-old practice of holding Federal Open Market Committee meetings behind closed doors violates government transparency laws. The fund asked a federal court in Washington to require the Fed to open its July 29-30 meeting.
CBS News
2 hours ago
- CBS News
U.S. Dept. of Education investigating 2 Michigan universities for alleged exclusionary scholarships under DACA
The U.S. Department of Education says it's investigating five American universities, including two in Michigan, for what it called possible violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, saying their DACA-affiliated scholarship programs may be discriminatory. The investigation, announced Wednesday, is targeting the University of Michigan and Western Michigan University, along with the University of Louisville, the University of Nebraska Omaha and the University of Miami. The federal education department says its intention is to "determine whether these universities are granting scholarships only for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals." DACA, often referred to as the Dream Act, has allowed hundreds of thousands of immigrants who crossed into the U.S. illegally or overstayed their visas as minors to live and work in the U.S., without fear of deportation. The education department drew attention to the University of Wisconsin's Dreamer scholarship and Western Michigan University's WMU Undocumented/DACA Scholarship. Neither the Trump Administration's America first policies nor the Civil Right (sic) Act of 1964's prohibition on national origin discrimination permit universities to deny our fellow citizens the opportunity to compete for scholarships because they were born in the United States," Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Craig Trainor said. In announcing their investigation, the education department said they will also "examine additional scholarships that appear to exclude students based on other aspects of Title VI, including race and color." Kay Jarvis, director of public affairs at the University of Wisconsin, responded to Wednesday's announcement, saying, "The university has received a letter of notification relating to this matter. We have no further comment." CBS Detroit has reached out to Western Michigan University for comment and is awaiting a response. Last week, the same department announced it was launching a separate investigation into the University of Wisconsin following the arrests of Chinese nationals in a number of pathogen smuggling Montoya-Galvez and DeJanay Booth-Singleton contributed to this report.
