Some Beltsville, Maryland, residents say they haven’t had their mail delivered in months because of an aggressive dog on their street.
The U.S. Postal Service suspended delivery to the 3100 block of Elkbridge Court after a dog attacked a mail carrier, the agency said.
News4 spoke with frustrated residents and the dog’s owner.
Mail is no longer delivered to the street after the postal service says a carrier was attacked by a dog and chased on two other occasions. Neighbors have to go to the post office to pick up their mail.
“I would like the mail delivered, because I don’t want to have to go to the post office all the time. It’s something we pay taxes for, and we should be able to receive it,” one resident said.
The dog USPS called aggressive is an American bully, his owner told News4 through her doorbell camera. She wasn’t home at the time.
The dog “has never hurt anybody. He’s around kids all the time. He’s just protective,” the owner said, defending her pet.
“If they’re scared of dogs, that’s a personal thing. My American bully is the sweetest,” she said.
More than 3,000 mail carriers across the U.S. were attacked by dogs last year, USPS said. If your dog attacks a mail carrier, you could be held responsible for paying their medical bills and for lost wages while they recover.
Carriers receive training on how to deal with dogs. They can put in warning cards during mail sorting and get alerts on handheld scanners about when a carrier might encounter a dog known to be aggressive. They can stop service for a single house of an entire neighborhood as a last resort.
The dog owner needs to make some changes before mail can be delivered again, USPS said.
“We will not resume delivery until we know that the dog is going to be restrained. We need to have cooperation from the dog owner to ensure that we’re safe,” a spokesperson said.
The dog owner told News4 she’s open to putting a mailbox closer to the street so the carrier doesn’t have to go to the door.
It’s a fix neighbors say can’t come soon enough.
“It’s very frustrating not to get your mail. All I want to do is get my mail,” a resident said.
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