Gaithersburg, MD, Letter Carrier Hugues Pointe Jour uses his mail satchel to take a protective stance against an approaching dog.

National Dog Bite Awareness Week, an annual USPS public service safety campaign, runs from Sunday, June 4, to Saturday, June 10, this year.

“Even good dogs have bad days” is this year’s theme.

“When our mail carriers are bitten, it is usually a ‘good dog’ that had not previously behaved in a menacing way,” said Linda DeCarlo, the organization’s occupational safety and health senior director.

More than 5,300 USPS employees were attacked by dogs in 2022, a slight decrease from the 5,400 reported in 2021.

Among major cities, Houston led with 57 attacks, followed by Los Angeles (48), Dallas (44) and Cleveland (43). Last year, Cleveland topped the list with 58 attacks.

California once again reported the most attacks by far — 675 — among states. Texas (404), New York (321), Pennsylvania (313) and Ohio (311) rounded out the top five.

While the Postal Service is promoting its annual message to customers to keep pets in their homes, behind a fence or on a leash, the organization is reminding letter carriers to stay vigilant when they know dogs may be present.

Letter carriers are trained to:

• Not startle a dog;

• Keep their eyes on any dogs that may be present;

• Never assume a dog will not bite;

• Make some noise or rattle a fence to alert a dog when entering a yard;

• Never attempt to pet or feed a dog; and

• Place their foot against an outward-swinging door to prevent a dog from escaping.

If a dog attacks, letter carriers should stand their ground and protect their body by placing something between them and the dog — such as a mail satchel — and to use dog repellent, if necessary.

The Safety Resources Blue page has additional tips and information.

Steven Burstein, a mail handler in Hampden, ME, helped bring in more than $1.35 million for the Postal Service.

A sales lead from a mail handler in Maine has resulted in a shipping deal worth more than $1.35 million for the Postal Service.

Steven Burstein, who works at the Eastern Maine Processing and Distribution Center in Hampden, likes to pay attention to what companies are shipping.

While on the dock recently, he noticed that one business customer’s mailing volume was down, so he submitted a lead.

Debra Reese, a territory sales representative, followed up with the customer and closed a shipping deal for $1,357,611 new estimated annualized revenue for the Postal Service.

“Attention to detail is key,” said Burstein. “Being able to see who is see who is sending what daily helps generate patterns — and that means dollars.”

Sales generated from employee leads are included in the USPS Delivering for Main Street campaign to raise revenue through sales leads.

The Postal Service is encouraging as many employees as possible to submit at least one lead by Sept. 30 through LEADing Together, a new program that makes it easier to pass along sales tips.

The LEADing Together portal combines the Postal Service’s six employee lead generation programs into one.

Postal employees with ACE IDs can submit leads through the new Employee Lead Entry site on Blue by selecting the “LEADing Together” link under “Featured Topics.”

Employees who do not have an ACE ID can access the site through LiteBlue by clicking on the LEADing Together link under the “USPS employee resources” tab.

Employees with USPS-issued mobile devices can use the LEADing Together app.

Customer 360 users can click on “LEADing Together” to access the site on that platform. Letter carriers who use a mobile delivery device, or MDD, can enter leads while in street mode, under option “U.”

The Small Business and Lead Generation Programs Blue page has more information about how employees can submit a lead.