news-record.com

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow are supposed to stop letter carriers from performing their daily duties.

But that darn dog on the corner can be a real pain in the keister.

Literally.

Enter National Dog Bite Prevention Week, an effort being promoted by the U.S. Postal Service to cut down on dog bites — of carriers and others.

Unfortunately for carriers, the idea of irritable dogs being pushed over the edge by the presence of a mail carrier isn't just a cliché — sometimes it's a daily reality.

"It's pretty much part of the job," said Carl Walton , a local Postal Service spokesman. "It's almost part of the tradition."

Spend long enough on a route, and it's likely you'll wind up with, if not necessarily a bite, at least a tale of a quick escape.

Antonio McCoy , a former carrier, had a close call with a feisty Jack Russell a few years ago in Lexington.

"He almost got me," McCoy said.

McCoy said he believes all dogs want to be friendly.

That doesn't mean they always are, though.

"One or two ... always stick out in your mind. 'He looks like if he got loose he would get ahold of me and tear me up pretty good,'" McCoy said.

Carriers, of course, aren't alone. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 800,000 dog bites require medical treatment each year, and most of the victims aren't delivering the mail.

Small children and the elderly are the most likely victims, with carriers in third place, according to the Postal Service.

Though statistics have improved in recent years, a postal employee's dream — a world where dogs never bite, where the worst-case scenario might be a lifted leg on a mailbox — is unfortunately just that: a dream.

"That would be nice, wouldn't it?" Walton said.

Still, even in reality, not every carrier eventually gets chomped. For his part, Walton never got bit while making the rounds.

"I delivered mainly to businesses," he said. "Fortunately, they didn't keep any dogs in the office."

Contact Jason Hardin at 373-7021 or at jason.hardin@news-record.com