Postal Service suspends service to three Davenport neighborhoods following series of dog attacks

The United States Postal Service has discontinued service to at least three different neighborhoods throughout Davenport after a series of dog attacks.

According to a USPS spokesperson, three mail carriers have been attacked by dogs in three separate incidents over the last five days. The postal services says one of the attacks happened in the 2100 block of Farnam Street. Neighbors in the area received a letter dated June 6, 2019 saying the postal service is “reviewing options for delivery including possibly converting delivery to a neighborhood delivery collection box unit.”

The letter does not say the condition of the three postal service workers and a spokesperson did not have the information either, however; the letter sent by Postmaster Anthony Harris said “often these attacks result in serious injury and can be very costly to both the Postal Service and the pet’s owner.”

The spokesperson did not have specific locations for the other two dog attacks but did say that the Postal Service is looking at mail delivery options of those neighborhoods as well.

The letter signed by Harris said nearly 6,000 postal employees were attacked by dogs last year with 100 of them being in the Davenport area. Illinois ranks in the top ten states with the most dog attacks.

The Postal Service offers the following safety tips:

• When a letter carrier delivers mail or packages to your front door, place your dog in a separate room and close that door before opening the front door. Dogs have been known to burst through screen doors or plate glass windows to attack visitors.

• Parents should remind children and other family members not to take mail directly from letter carriers in the presence of the family pet. The dog may view the letter carrier handing mail to a family member as a threatening gesture.

• If a letter carrier feels threatened by a dog, or if a dog is loose or unleashed, the owner may be asked to pick up mail at a Post Office or another facility until the letter carrier is assured the pet has been restrained. If the dog is roaming the neighborhood, the pet owner’s neighbors also may be asked to pick up their mail at the area’s Post Office.