Los Angeles ranks No. 2 in dog attacks on U.S. postal workers

Working as a U.S. postal worker can be risky, especially in Los Angeles, where dog attacks rank second highest in the nation, according to a report out this week.

Houston only slightly beat out Los Angeles for the top spot on a list complied by the U.S. Postal Service, which tracked the number of dog attacks on its mail carriers.

There were 61 dog attacks last year in Los Angeles and 63 in Houston, according to the list of 60 cities compiled by the USPS.

The latest figures were released as a prelude to National Dog Bite Prevention week, which runs May 18 to 24.

More than 5,500 postal employees were victims of dog attacks last year across the U.S., 304 of them in California.

Among cities in California, San Diego ranked fourth with 53 attacks, followed by Sacramento at No. 13 with 30. San Jose came in at No. 16 with 26 attacks, and Fresno, Long Beach and Oakland tied for No. 19 with 22 attacks.

There were 20 dog attack incidents in San Francisco, the USPS reported.

Bakersfield and Van Nuys reported 13 attacks last year; 11 incidents were logged in Santa Ana.

The USPS advised dog owners to keep their pets in separate rooms if a letter carrier delivers packages to their front door.

Dogs have been said to rush through screen doors or glass windows to attack letter carriers.

Pet owners whose dogs are on the loose or threaten letter carriers may be asked to pick up their mail at a post office.