A post office in Florida will soon be renamed for a mail carrier who died in 2022 after being viciously mauled by dogs.
The Pamela Jane Rock Post Office at 859 North State Road 21 in Melrose will be dedicated on Monday, Aug. 26, the United States Postal Service said in a release. Rep. Aaron Bean, R-District 4, and Rep. Kat Cammack, R-District 3, sponsored a bill to dedicate the facility to her and President Biden signed it into law in May.
“Pam had a servant’s heart, and it was obvious in the way she lived her life. While her time on this earth was tragically cut short, she served the U.S. Post Service with passion and integrity,” said Congressman Bean. “I’m looking forward to this special renaming ceremony where we will be able to see Pam’s name on display for the first time, officially memorializing her commitment to Floridians.”
What happened to mail carrier Pamela Jane Rock?
Rock, 61, was delivering mail on Aug. 21, 2022, when her vehicle broke down in the Interlachen Lake Estates area, according to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. Her brother Tom Rock later said she had called for help and was delivering mail on foot.
Witnesses said they heard a woman screaming for help and found Rock on the ground being mauled by five dogs. Several neighbors attempted to pull the dogs off and one shot a rifle into the ground to frighten them away, they said.
First responders did what they could, even restarting her heart at one point, and the severely wounded Rock was transported to a hospital and then flown to a trauma center in Gainesville. While attempting to save her doctors were forced to amputate her right leg, her right arm and her left ear, Tom Rock said. Despite their efforts, Rock died the next day. She had been with the mail service for seven months.
The neighbor with the rifle, Richard Carr, told First Coast News that the dogs had been a nuisance before but were usually kept in their owner’s yard. Investigations by the Putnam County Sheriff and the State Attorney’s Office revealed a history of attacks involving the same dogs in previous months. The State Attorney’s Office declined to file charges against their owner as the owner had tried to surrender them twice, including once 10 days before the attack, according to News4Jax.
The dogs were euthanized.
Who was Pamela Jane Rock?
Plantation, Florida native Rock was the youngest of 14 children.
“After graduating from the University of Florida, she worked for the Alachua County Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program” Tom Rock, said. “She also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala for three years and later worked on the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana teaching nutrition. She vociferously advocated on Capitol Hill for the needs of women and children trapped in poverty before joining the Postal Service as a letter carrier in January 2022.”
“Dedicating the Melrose Post Office as the ‘Pamela Jane Rock Post Office Building’ has a profound significance to our family,” said Rock’s niece, Heidi Wright. “It represents a lasting tribute, honoring Pamela’s contributions, her public service abroad serving in the U.S. Peace Corps, as a local postal carrier, and countless years spent caring for others in her own community.
“This recognition not only immortalizes her legacy but also brings a sense of pride and honor to our family, reinforcing the values and accomplishments she was able to achieve.”
Florida ranks high in dog attacks on mail carriers
Incidents involving dog attacks on U.S. Postal Service employees rose to more than 5,800 cases last year, according to a USPS release, and Florida was the 7th highest state in the country for dog bites with 193 incidents. California was by far the most dangerous place for mail carrier legs with 727 attacks reported, and Texas reported 411. Ohio, with half our population, was No. 3 with 359.
“Letter carriers are exposed to potential hazards every day, none more prevalent than a canine encounter. All it takes is one interaction for a letter carrier to possibly suffer an injury,” said Leeann Theriault, USPS Manager, Employee Safety and Health Awareness. “The U.S. Postal Service consistently encourages responsible pet ownership.”
How to keep your dog from attacking postal workers
Any dog, even normally non-threatening ones, can attack if they feel their turf is being invaded.
“Even though a customer’s dog is friendly to most people, it can always have a bad day,” said letter carrier Tara Snyder. “I know, from experience, even when a dog is in the house, customers need to make sure their door is secure so their dog can’t push it open and bite the letter carrier.”
It’s not just the carrier who will be affected, although that’s enough. If a postal employee is injured the dog owner may be responsible for medical bills, lost wages, uniform replacement costs and pain and suffering for the carrier. According to the USPS, quoting the Insurance Information Institute, the average cost per insurance claim for a dog bite is $64,555.
It can also mean your mail will be delayed, as the USPS prioritizes the safety of its workers and will ask you to come pick it up at a facility until the carrier feels safe returning to your home. If your dog is free to roam about, your neighbors also may have to go pick up their mail at the post office as well.
The USPS has suggestions to keep everyone safe:
- When it’s time for a letter carrier to arrive, keep dogs inside the house or behind a fence, in a different room with the door closed, or on a leash. Dogs can burst through screen doors or plate-glass windows if they feel threatened.
- Don’t let children take mail directly from a mail carrier as the dog may view the carrier as a threat to the child.
- Sign up for Informed Delivery to get a heads-up on when the mail will arrive (and get photos of your mail before it gets there).
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