Illinois & Chicago Top Ranked In U.S. For Postal Worker Dog Bites

Facing dogs is a job hazard for postal carriers across the United States but how often does one get bitten by a canine in Illinois?

Have You Ever Been Bitten By A Dog?

First of all, I want to say that I love dogs. I grew up with them. My family had Alaskan Malamutes when I was a child.

I did get bitten once by my friend's dog. I was ten years old and we were playing in his backyard during the summer. His mom let their dog out and it ran up to me and bit me in the butt. It was just a nip, so I was okay.

Being A Postal Worker Is A Tough Job

A couple of days ago, I was just getting home from work and it was raining like crazy. Pulling into my driveway, I saw the mailman just getting drenched. I felt bad for him. They have to work in all the weather elements good and bad.

Another work hazard for postal workers is dogs. Every once in a while, our neighbor's dog will escape from their yard. It's scary when it comes to charging toward me. I could just imagine being a mail carrier and having to deal with that multiple times on a daily basis.

When I was a kid, there was a guy on our block that worked for the post office. He had gotten bitten by dogs several times in his career. I think I would've quit.

Illinois Not A Good Place For Postal Carrier Dog Bites

If you plan on a career as a postal carrier, I definitely don't recommend working in Illinois. The USPS recently released some stats, HERE.

In the United States, Illinois is ranked 7th for dog bites with 226 total. The good news is that number went down from 2020 which had 289.

Chicago has the 8th highest total of dog bites for a city in the United States at 35.

A total of 5,400 postal workers in 2021 were attacked by a dog in the United States. Many of the incidents came after the owner said the animal was friendly and would never bite anyone.

For more info, HERE.