Mail delivery stopped on View Royal street after dog attack

Canada Post has suspended mail delivery on a View Royal street after one of its carriers was attacked by two off-leash dogs last week.

It said it’s working with Capital Regional District’s Bylaw and Animal Care ­Services, which is investigating the attack, and will determine when it’s safe to resume home delivery on Prince Robert Drive. No details were provided about the nature of the carrier’s injuries.

“This is a serious cause of concern for our employees and for our customers,” said Phil Rogers, a spokesperson for Canada Post. “We hope to resume delivery as soon as possible when it is safe to do so.”

CRD spokesman Andy Orr said a dog was being loaded into a vehicle in the driveway by its owner, who was visiting her daughter on the street, when it got loose along with the daughter’s dog, which was also being loaded into the car.

The latter dog was “at large and acting in a menacing fashion” but did not bite, Orr said.

The owner of the attacking dog remained at the scene and volunteered her information for follow-up, he said.

A violation ticket is expected to be issued to that owner, along with a dangerous dog caution, Orr said.

The owner of the second dog will receive a warning, he said.

Canada Post said CRD Bylaw and Animal Care Services will advise when carriers can visit affected customers on Prince Robert Drive to provide them with letters notifying them of the situation and where to pick up their mail in the meantime.

The union representing the more than 600 workers who deliver the mail every day said Canada Post carriers are bitten or charged by dogs on average every two weeks in Greater Victoria, and many of the incidents could be easily avoided by homeowners.

“It happens way too frequently,” said Shellayne Vos, part of the health and safety committee for the Canadian Union of Postal Workers Victoria Local 850.

“It’s not just the bite … we’re carrying 35 pounds in our bags and up to 50 pounds with parcels, so turning away or escaping a charging dog can cause falls and other injuries.”

Union president Kate Holowatiuk said dog bites on local carriers have ranged from broken skin to injuries requiring reconstructive surgery — and most happen unexpectedly.

Charging dogs and other aggressive behaviors can also cause trauma in carriers, she said, as well as twisted ankles or broken limbs from falls. “It’s frequent and it’s hard on carriers,” Holowatiuk said.

She said Greater Victoria has a high population of dogs and often they are outside more because of milder weather year round.

Holowatiuk, a carrier for 16 years, said she has been bitten three times. All the bites were fairly minor, but she said dogs present an unpredictable hazard to their work. Sometimes it happens when carriers are just passing through and near parks, where dogs that are supposed to leashed can charge or bite.

“It really doesn’t matter the breed or the size,” she said. “It’s more a behavioural thing that is really the responsibility of the owners.”

Vos said mail carriers no longer carry dog treats to placate pets and now will skip a home that has an unleashed or even tethered dog on a path to the mail box. She said it’s safer for carriers to deliver the mail the next day.

“We don’t interact with dogs anymore,” said Vos.

She said dog owners’ responses after a carrier is bitten are almost always the same: “They say my dog’s never done this before.”

Vos said it’s up to homeowners to ensure their dogs are under control, at least 15 feet away, and behind a closed door when documents have to be signed for parcels.

Even keeping screen doors closed in summer sometimes doesn’t always stop a territorial dog, Vos added, as some have been known to break through to the carriers.

“We all want to go home whole,” said Vos. “My last route was 24 kilometres long and we’re all out there doing long hours and want to be safe and come home healthy.”

The safety issue becomes even more important to carriers as they prepare for the busy holiday delivery periods over the next two months, said Vos.

In December 2019, a female carrier was seriously mauled by a dog while delivering a parcel in Saanich. The delivery required a signature, which meant the carrier had to ring the doorbell.

Although the dog was behind a barrier in the home, it broke through, biting the carrier on the hand, then followed her outside, inflicting deep wounds on her arm. The union called it one of the worst cases it had ever seen.

In October 2021, a street in Fairfield also had its mail delivery cut off after off-leash dogs were straying from a nearby park that was only partially fenced. It took about six weeks for the mail to return, after the city finished a 40-foot section of fence.

Canada Post offered these tips to dog owners:

Be careful when you answer the door, so your dog does not slip out

Keep your dog inside, in a fenced yard or tied up far from the front door or mailbox.

Keep front doors and fence gates closed.

Keep your dog away from the screen door, even if it is locked.

dkloster@timescolonist.com

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