Two postal workers attacked by dogs while delivering mail in Dedham area

DEDHAM, Mass. — Two postal workers are recovering after being attacked by dogs in separate incidents last Friday.

According to Dedham Animal Control, one of the attacks occurred in Dedham while the other occurred just over the town line in Hyde Park.

In the first incident, a letter carrier named Adam was placing mail into the mailbox while a woman was pulling into her driveway with her two dogs inside the car. Although the dogs were leashed, officials say one of the dogs, who is known to be protective of the home, pulled the leash from the owner and attacked Adam, biting him in the leg.

This was the third time he has been attacked by dogs in Dedham, according to animal control.

In the second attack, a letter carrier named Jeannette was putting mail into the mailbox, next to the front door of a residence. The owner opened her door and asked Jeannette to hand her the mail. Aware of the dog in the background, the letter carrier asked the homeowner to close the door, despite the homeowner’s insistence.

Officials say the dog then pushed through the partially opened door, knocking the letter carrier to the ground. The dog bit Jeannette in the face while she was trying to flee the porch.

The letter carrier was transported to a nearby emergency room.

“Both Adam and Jeanette are back to work, and we commend their healing strengths, positive attitudes and commitments to their jobs,” Dedham Animal Control said in a statement. “Both of these incidents were preventable and neither was the fault of the Letter Carrier.”

Animal control is asking dog owners to please:

• Do not open the door to your home with your dog next to or behind you, or even near to the door, while someone (often in uniform or identified, expected) is tending to their job at your home.
• If you are asked to secure your dog in a crate or in another room, do not debate it.
• If you have a dog that is protective, aggressive, anxious, timid, or has a bite history or the propensity to react negatively or even unknowingly to a visitor, leave the dog inside your vehicle, the home, or the crate – UNTIL the visitor has left your property.

“NO ONE should have to do their job while displaying [preventable] scars from doing it. And we will keep addressing this, until every Carrier remains safe,” the Dedham Animal Control Officer wrote.

It is unclear if either dog owner will face fines.

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