Mail Carrier Surrounded, Attacked
Mayfair, CA - A 36-year-old U.S. Postal Service mail carrier suffered bites on her right arm and shoulder while being attacked by four dogs Monday in the Mayfair area, Fresno County sheriff's deputies reported. The victim was treated at Community Regional Medical Center and released, sheriff's spokesman Chris Curtice said. Additional details about her injuries were not revealed.

The incident occurred at Eleventh Street and Kenmore Drive North. The victim told investigators she was walking to her truck when she heard barking dogs. When she turned around, she saw that four pit bull-mix dogs had surrounded her. The dogs cornered her against her truck and started biting the mail she was holding before they knocked her down.

Once on the ground, two of the dogs bit her right arm and started shaking her, while another dog bit her shoulder and the fourth one attempted to bite her leg. Residents chased the dogs away with sticks. Three of the dogs were caught later, while a fourth got away. The owner of dogs was cited on a county ordinance pertaining to vicious dogs, and the animals were turned over to SPCA officials.

4 loose pit bull-mixes is an absolute recipe for disaster.

The USPS continues to spend time and money "educating" dog owners to restrain their dogs. The concerted effort, however, seems to get sucked into a black hole. Meanwhile, hordes of postal workers continue to suffer severe injury from attacks by pit bulls, which are statistically the least restrainable dog. In the 1987 Lockwood & Rindy survey (Are 'pit bulls' different?) the authors note:

42% of pit bull attacks involved dogs that were fenced, chained or inside prior to the incident. Another 14% involved dogs jumping fences or breaking chains. For bites involving other breeds, 26.7% were similarly restrained, but only 1% involved breaking restraint.

Related articles:
07/14/08: Another Columbus Mail Carrier Attacked by Pit Bull
03/31/08: US Postal Service Trains with Pit Bull Owner