MARLIN, Texas (KXXV) — "They're constantly having to worry about dogs and the fear of getting bitten,” said Marlin USPS Postmaster Christi Davidson.
The US postal service in Marlin is asking locals to keep a close eye on their dogs.
They tell 25 News they've seen an increase in loose and stray dogs, leading to dangerous encounters for their carriers.
"I have had one carrier that was bitten in April and I just had another one at the end of July — I had a carrier that was getting out of his vehicle to deliver the mail and a homeowner opened up their door and let their dogs out,” said Davidson.
Davidson says they've made several attempts in getting help from the community.
"I have sent letters out to the residents continually on dog issues and notified them to please keep their dogs restrained or locked up,” said Davidson.
Here are a few tips from USPS:
- Making sure your dog is locked up
- Sign up for delivery alerts
- Ensure outside dogs are properly restrained on a leash away from the mailbox
- Report stray dogs to the police
When these things aren't done, it can lead to the interruption of mail service, not only for the dog owner but the entire block or neighborhood.
"When the mail service is interrupted they've got to come up here and pick up the mail from the post office and we can't restore the service until the dogs are properly restrained,” said Davidson.
That's exactly what Marlin resident Fabiola Mendoza has had to encounter.
“It’s frustrating because we have to go to the post office and pick up our mail and some days we don’t know whether we do have mail or not. We’ve been up to the post office like two or three times already because they’re not leaving our mail and packages, it’s an issue,” said Marlin resident Fabiola Mendoza.
This is an issue USPS says they hope will eventually be resolved.
" We don't want to be holding the mail, we want to make sure that everybody gets all the mail and all the packages that they should get on a daily basis,” said Davidson.
