Dog vs Postie incidents on the up

Saturday 19 November 2022

Guernsey Post is appealing for help as incidents involving dogs being let out or getting to their posties are increasing.

Shelley Carberry, Health and Safety Manager at Guernsey Post, says that recorded incidents, including attacks and near-misses within the last six months are closing in on the total number recorded during the whole of the previous year.

“From April to October we have had 22 near misses reported by our posties, this is compared to a total of 36 in the previous 12-month period, so we are currently on track to exceed last year’s total which we really want to avoid,” she said.

“We record dog attacks as well as near-miss incidents and we class a near-miss as the dog being able to get to the postie and the postie feeling unsafe. 

“We work closely with customers when we identify a dog of concern to find a solution to enable our posties to continue delivering mail to that property safely and this has proven to be successful, but we want to continue to be proactive and advise customers what they can do in advance of the situation occurring.”

Paul Ingrouille, CWU Health & Safety Rep, added: “A lot of posties have dogs themselves and we understand that they are just protecting their property. These campaigns have been aimed at keeping dogs and posties safe together”. 

We love dogs, but not all dogs love us! We have recently seen an increase in incidents involving dogs being able to get to the postie, please help us keep these incidents to a minimum by ensuring your dog is contained in an area away from where your post gets delivered. pic.twitter.com/qrysOLgBE3

— Guernsey Post (@GuernseyPost) November 14, 2022

 Things you can do to help:

• Easily visible signs showing that a dog is at the property.
• Having a Safeplace (to collect your mail) away from the dog.
• When you answer your door, ensure your dog is put into another room so it cannot escape.
• Securing outside areas so the dog cannot escape.
• Let us know if you get a new dog or move into a new property.
• Be aware that as we head into the festive period, delivery times and days may vary.