Dog Bites (Mail)Man: The 10 Cities Where Dogs Attack Letter Carriers the Most

Dogs attacking the mailman do not just happen in the funny pages.

Nearly 6,000 U.S. Postal Service employees were attacked by dogs in 2014, and USPS wants it to stop.

As it has done for several years, the Postal Service has -- to correspond with National Dog Bite Prevention Week -- released its list of cities where the most incidents of dogs biting letter carriers have occurred. USPS also held a press conference on Thursday to highlight the issue and suggest tips for improving dog safety.

“There’s a myth we often hear at the Postal Service: ‘Don’t worry, my dog won’t bite,’ ” said Postal Service Manager of Safety Linda DeCarlo. “Dog attacks are a nationwide issue and not just a postal problem. Any dog can bite and all attacks are preventable through responsible pet ownership.”

DeCarlo warned homeowners to put their dogs in a separate room before receiving the mail, as they have been known to burst through screen or even glass doors to attack strangers. She also said if a letter carrier feels unsafe, postal customers may be asked to come to the post office to retrieve their mail.

In 2014, Los Angeles supplanted Houston as the most dangerous place for canine-postal interactions. Here are the 10 worst cities for cynophobic letter carriers:

1. Los Angeles, Calif.: 74 attacks in 2014
2. Houston, Texas: 62
3. San Diego, Calif.: 47
4. Chicago, Ill.: 45
5. Dallas, Texas: 43
6. Denver, Colo. 40
6. Louisville, Ky.: 40
8. Cleveland, Ohio: 37
9. Phoenix, Ariz.: 35
10. Minneapolis, Minn.: 33
10. Philadelphia, Pa.: 33