Jun 13, 2026
It can be rough to be a postal carrier in the U.S. The hours are long. The median salary of $54,250 falls below the national median salary of $64,220. The work subjects you to all sorts of extreme temperatures. And let’s not even get started about the fashion-don’t of the uniform’s shorts.
But the biggest pain in the butt when it comes to working for the USPS? It’s the dogs.
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Canines and mailmen (and mailwomen) have been enemies since the dawn of the postal service. It’s not hard to see why, when viewed from the pup’s perspective. The postal carrier is an intruder on the area a dog feels duty bound to protect. But not all dogs are as aggressive as others, geographically speaking.
The USPS has pored over the data about dog bites and other incidents in 2025 to determine which areas present the biggest risks to its employees.
California topped the list—by a landslide.
Hollywood hounds
Los Angeles was far and away the place a postal carrier was most likely to be bitten, with 70 incidents last year. And reports of dog/carrier incidents in California overall were nearly double that of the state with the second highest number of incidents. The Golden State saw 673 incidents last year compared to Texas’s 358.
Among cities, Dallas ranked second, with 50 reported incidents. Denver was third with 45 and Houston had 44. Chicago rounded out the top five with 43.
After California and Texas, Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania made up the top five states.
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All totaled last year, employees at the USPS suffered more than 5,200 dog attacks, the service says.
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Scary moments. Big fines.
While the dog vs. postal carrier story is a punchline on many TV shows, the reality is a bit scarier, say some USPS employees.
“I was walking my route when a dog jumped the fence and lunged at me,” said Fiona Hudson, a letter carrier in San Antonio. “I used my dog repellent and mail bag to defend myself, but it was too late. I was rushed to the hospital bleeding, with a broken bone, a severe arm sprain and was barely able to move.”
Carriers are trained to stand their ground when faced with a canine threat, using their mail satchel as a protective shield and deploying dog repellent if necessary. They’re also provided with awareness tools, including handheld scanners that feature built-in dog warning alerts and physical warning cards placed into mail sorting cases to alert a carrier of a dog at a certain address.
Homeowners who fail to secure their dog can find their mail service temporarily suspended—and will have to pick up their mail themselves at the local post office until the carrier feels safe. If the matter is not resolved, they could be forced to rent a post office box to receive their mail.
Oowners are also financially responsible for the actions of their dogs. The USPS writes “If your dog attacks a postal worker, you could owe thousands of dollars out of pocket to cover their medical care, lost shifts, replacement clothing and emotional distress.”
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Chris Morris is a veteran journalist with more than 35 years of experience at many of the internet's biggest news outlets. In addition to his activities as a writer, reporter and editor, Chris is also a frequent panel moderator and speaker at major conferences, including CES and South by Southwest.
