Postal Stickers for Dogs

Postal Stickers for Dogs

First at nine --- it's a solution to a decades old problem.

The fight between dangerous dogs and mail carriers.

Now the post office is hoping to make a big difference -- with a small effort.

Welcome to fox44 at 9 --- i'm jessica hartman.

A new program is trying to avoid a sticky situation - while also raising awareness.

As our chief western kentucky bureau reporter - erran huber explains - you may have noticed something new in-front of your house -this evening.

Little stickers like these.

May be coming to a mailbox near you.

Here's why.

"14 years" that how long bryan hamilton has been a postal carrier.

But for some houses in owensboro, wednesday.

He bringing something new with the mail the name of the initiative is paws.

A labeling system if you will, a sticker system.

It just indicates there's a dog there."

"the house before where a dog is, with a yellow sticker.

To let a carrier know the next house they're coming to that there is a dog there.'

"orange sticker.

Indicating there is a dog present inside."

And he sharing with those on his route what theye for.

The usps has postcards with the info--but brian also does it in person (barking) "it doesn't mean the dog's vicious.

I've never had any trouble with your dogs.

It's not that.

Like a carrier that's not familiar, when those dogs hit the door.

It startles them.

It scares them.

It just gives them a head up that there's a dog here."

Cause there's a lot of dogs that run the neighborhood.

So we don't know what they're like.

They won't come to you.

Some of them won't, some of them do.

Some of them are to the point where they're big enough that they're going to scare people.

I think that's a great idea."

With people staying heyially distant aren just getting more mail.

During the covid-19 pandemic especially, people are home.

Kids are home.

They're spending more time out in the yard with this nicer weather.

We are seeing more dogs out in yards.

It is very common.

Meaning more of the possibility of a negative encounter.

The community doesn't really understand how many dog bites we face.

In the kentuckiana area that i oversee, in the past 10 years, we've had close to 1,000 dog bites.

So that's an astronomical number.

So if we can avoid one, that's saving a lot of money, that's saving a lot of money, that's saving a lot of time, and that's saving a lot of heartache for folks.

So the stickers for anyone who drops by.

It's actually not just for our carriers.

It's for the police department.

Fire department.

Peace of mind, if you will.

A heads up to stay safe.

They won just be here in owensboro but coming across kentucky and indiana.

Theyl start showing up in evansville tomorrow.

Live in owensboro eh 44news tonight