More Dogs Caught Attacking Postmen

Lots of bad boys around the nation have been consistently ignoring the order to get down, as Royal Mail is warning that numbers of dog attacks on its posties are on the rise.

Data from the Royal Mail says its people logged 2,484 dog attacks over the last year, a nine per cent increase on the previous year’s numbers. Despite what the Beano may have told us when we were little this is not funny, as real-world dogs have real-world teeth and aren’t so easily distracted by the aroma of a string of sausages, nor do they only do little nips to the bottom.

It is therefore the Royal Mail’s Dog Awareness week all this week, with the post officers taking the time to explain that attacks tend to rise over the school holiday period, when dogs are more likely to be outside, lying in wait, ready to kick off when their territory is threatened by someone strolling in with a squeaky trolley and rustling bag.

The post office got the Communication Workers Union to speak up for its unionised staff too, with spokesman Dave Joyce warning of possible postie deaths, and saying: “Worryingly there were a number of very serious dog attacks on postal workers in both Royal Mail delivery and Parcelforce delivery over this past year, some of which could easily have ended in fatalities if it wasn’t for the intervention of the owners and good Samaritans.” [Royal Mail via Sky News]