DOG BITES POSE TROUBLE ALONG MAIL ROUTES

-- Don't mess with unfamiliar dogs. Dogs are very territorial and may react aggressively when someone invades their territory.

-- Don't make eye contact with dogs because they perceive eye contact as a challenge.

-- Don't approach a dog, even a familiar one, quickly and stick out your hand. Always talk gently to the dog first and let it see and sniff you.

-- Don't let your arms swing at your side. Pull them up closely to your body.

-- Don't run away from a dog; they will pursue.

-- When being approached by a dog, don't scream or run. Try to back away slowly until the dog is out of sight.

-- If the dog does attack, "feed" the dog your jacket, purse, anything you can put between yourself and the dog.

Source: U.S. Postal Service

Neither rain nor sleet nor snow will stop postal carriers from their appointed rounds.

But Rover or Butch can.

Butch, a 7-month-old pit bull, stopped mail delivery along a six-block area in St. Joseph recently.

The owner of the dog and a mail carrier had some heated words about the animal, and the mailman won. Postal inspectors decided to halt delivery of mail to any home within sight of the dog's house. It seems the postal worker had been bitten by dogs three times in the past, although never by Butch.

Regardless of their training to handle dogs, postal authorities continue to have problems with the animals, and services can be stopped.

The U.S. Postal Service reports that dog bites have dropped over the past two years, including a 6 percent drop last year. But 2,541 postal workers still suffered dog bites last year -- that's about 167 fewer bites than in 1997.

Dog bites to postal employees peaked during the mid-1980s when more than 7,000 letter carriers were attacked by dogs.

"We credit employee training, a greater public awareness and the work of animal control officers for much of the decrease," said Cape Girardeau Postmaster Michael Keefe. "We haven't had a dog bite since 1996."

When postal carriers encounter problems, they contact animal control officers.

Keefe said, "We see a potential problem, we call the officers, and they follow up on it."

Keefe remembers an incident involving a dog when he was a mail carrier. One morning as he walked up to a porch surrounded by high bushes, he saw a large German shepherd.

"This was something new for this particular house," he said. "We usually know where dogs are in the neighborhood we carry mail in. When I saw the dog I backed away slowly. When the dog came off the porch, I looked for another alternative."

Keefe found the alternative on top of a new car parked in the driveway.

"I jumped on top of the car," he said. "The owner of the house and car came out and asked what the heck I was doing on top of his new car. I told him his dog was threatening to rip my leg off."

The car owner said it wasn't his dog.

The local post office also conducts dog-bite prevention clinics every year. Prior to 1996, up to five dog bites a year had been reported by the Cape Girardeau Post Office.

Jackson Postmaster Mike Heuschober said carriers are very cautious when it comes to dogs.

"Our carriers have `dog cards,'" he said. "They note any dog problems and where they are. The cards are kept on file, and if the regular carrier can't make a route, the substitute is made aware of any problem."

Joe Nabors, Scott City postmaster, said dogs were a continuing problem.

"We had to send out some `dog notes' to a few people in the past year," he said. "Dog notes" are sent by the post office asking people to restrain their dogs when mail is delivered, or mail services could be lost.

Most mail carriers also carry a pepper spray to ward off dogs.

The Insurance Information Institute reports that dog-bite claims cost $1 billion annually in the United States. State Farm Insurance says that about one in three homeowner insurance claims for bodily injury involve a dog bite.

The post office seeks damages for dog bites to its carriers.

"We seek damages for the cost of treatment and time lost," Keefe said.

It is up to dog owners to protect the public from bites, but it isn't just letter carriers who are in danger. Last year 4.7 million Americans were victims of a dog bite. Nearly 3 million of them were children.

Statistics from the Humane Society of the United States show that between nine and 12 of the attacks are fatal.

Cape Girardeau Police have received 14 dog bite reports this year. In the past five years, 177 dog bites have been reported to police.

Humane Society officials say dogs bite out of fear, to protect their territory or to establish dominance over the person being bitten.