Working for the federal government can be downright dangerous. Too often, fatal.

All IRS personnel, and government (OSHA, meat, mine, wage and hour, health) inspectors never know what to expect when meeting their public.

Park rangers sometimes risk life and limb getting customers out of a jam. Federal law enforcement personnel are often a risk. Some Social Security customers, age notwithstanding, can get out of hand. Big time. Especially when it is discovered they have been cashing their deceased mother’s checks for a decade.

But when it comes to the danger-is-my-business beat, few places can match the U.S. Postal Service. It’s huge (600,000 plus people). It’s everywhere and it delivers. Some employees spend up to 6 hours a day in a vehicle that makes frequent stops.

At one point in its history, the USPS had more accidents per year than the peacetime U.S. Marine Corps. While many of the problems are car related, postals face many industrial-type accidents processing the mail. And dog bites! Big deal.

Many cartoons feature dogs chasing or biting postal letter carriers. In less politically-correct, sensitive times they were funny. Now, not so much.

The fact that so many letter carriers are bitten by dogs who, their owners say, have never done it before is of little comfort. It happens to 4,000 to 5,000 postal workers each year! That’s a lot of people, especially if you or a loved one is one of them.

In fact, things are so bad that the U.S. Postal Service has made a list of cities where their people are most likely to be attacked by a dog. The top five are Los Angeles, Houston, San Diego, Chicago and Dallas. Denver, Louisville and St. Louis are next.

Baltimore, San Francisco, Las Vegas and Dayton out bite Washington, D.C., by a lot. So does Richmond. Austin reports slightly fewer per annum dog-bites-carrier man than Alexandria or Arlington, Virginia.

Of the surveyed cities, the fewest recorded bites (as in 10 per year) were in Kansas City, Kansas. But across the river in the Missouri side, letter carriers were three times more likely to feel Fido’s wrath. And teeth.

Other low-bite locals include Cedar Rapids; Wilmington, North Carolina; Staten Island; Toledo; Pasadena, Texas and Spokane, Washington

So when you or your letter carrier loved one sets out for work today pay attention to that cute doggie in the window.

To see where your city stands in the bad-dog parade checkout Meiko S. Patton’s article.

NEARLY USELESS FACTOID

By Michael O’Connell

The most popular names in 2014 for male and female dogs were Max and Bella, respectively.

Source: Rover.com

MORE FROM FEDERAL NEWS RADIO

Senate panel votes to overhaul military retirement, to cut headquarters spending
The Senate Armed Services Committee voted Thursday to overhaul the military’s compensation system, nudging it away from a defined benefit structure and adding a government-matched investment plan similar to a 401k. The vote puts both the House and Senate on the same page, though the Obama Administration is still undecided about whether and how to proceed.

PHOTOS: DHS honors heroic employees with Valor Awards
The Homeland Security Department honored 11 employees and two local law enforcement officers for their heroic efforts on and off the job, during a May 14, 2015, ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Copyright © 2024 Federal News Network. All rights reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.