(KTLA) — Los Angeles is known for a lot of things, including entertainment, food and traffic, but the City of Angels is infamous for another reason.
According to the U.S. Postal ServiceLos Angeles leads the nation in dog bites against mail carriers, with 65 reported dog attacks on mail carriers in 2023, surpassing Houston’s 56. 2nd on last year’s list.
Besides Los Angeles, other California cities making the top 30 include San Diego (6th), Sacramento (16th), San Francisco (19th) and Long Beach (20th).
The list of the top 30 cities is as follows:
| city | state | 2023 | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | Canada | 65 | 1 |
| Houston | Texas | 56 | 2 |
| Chicago | IL | 48 | 3 |
| St. Louis | Missouri | 46 | Four |
| Cleveland | oh | 44 | Five |
| San Diego | Canada | 41 | 6 |
| Dallas | Texas | 39 | 7 |
| Cincinnati | oh | 38 | 8 |
| Philadelphia | P | 34 | 9 |
| Columbus | oh | 33 | Ten |
| Kansas City | Missouri | 32 | 11 |
| Indianapolis | in | 30 | 12 |
| Memphis | TN | 29 | 13 |
| Louisville | Kentucky | 28 | 14 |
| Minneapolis | Minnesota | 27 | 15 |
| Albuquerque | New Mexico | 26 | 16 |
| San Antonio | Texas | 26 | 16 |
| Sacramento | Canada | 26 | 16 |
| Milwaukee | Wisconsin | twenty three | 17 |
| Dayton | oh | twenty three | 17 |
| Fort Worth | Texas | twenty three | 17 |
| Miami | Florida | twenty one | 18 |
| Denver | CO | twenty one | 18 |
| Omaha | Northeast | twenty one | 18 |
| Buffalo | new york | 20 | 19 |
| San Francisco | Canada | 20 | 19 |
| Long sandy beach | Canada | 19 | 20 |
| Tulsa | got it | 19 | 20 |
| Portland | or | 19 | 20 |
| Detroit | Michigan | 19 | 20 |
Among states, California topped the list of reported dog bites in 2023 with 727, more than 300 more than second-place Texas.
The list of the top 10 states is below:
| state | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | 727 | 675 |
| Texas | 411 | 404 |
| oh | 359 | 311 |
| P | 334 | 313 |
| IL | 316 | 245 |
| new york | 296 | 321 |
| Florida | 193 | 220 |
| North Carolina | 185 | 146 |
| Michigan | 183 | 206 |
| Missouri | 180 | 166 |
The report comes as the USPS begins a week-long initiative on June 2 to raise awareness about mail carrier safety among dog owners.
“Mail carriers are exposed to potential dangers every day, none more common than encounters with dogs; it only takes one interaction for a mail carrier to be injured,” said Leanne Theriault, USPS manager of employee safety and health awareness. “The United States Postal Service has always encouraged responsible pet ownership, and the national dog bite campaign is an effort to raise awareness of dog bites to help keep customers, their dogs and mail carriers safe while delivering mail.”
USPS says mail carriers are trained on what to do if a dog is in the vicinity.
These lessons may include making non-threatening noises to let the dog know you are there, not startling the dog, not petting or feeding the dog, and putting your foot over the swinging door to stop the dog from getting out.
The USPS has advised dog owners to keep their dogs behind a gate or fence when postal workers arrive at their home and to keep them on a leash during walks.
“Although our clients’ dogs are friendly to most people, they do have some days when they are in a bad mood,” postal worker Tara Snyder said in the report. “From experience, even when the dog is inside the home, clients should ensure that the door is securely closed to prevent the dog from pushing it open and biting the postal worker.”
