Hounded Mail Carriers Work on Their Delivery

Gregg Boyajian, 45, knows all too well that delivering the mail can be an invitation to getting bitten by dogs. In 1984, his first year as a letter carrier, a dog in Encino gnawed his left ankle. Since then, he has been bitten twice more on his route, now in Van Nuys.

“When you put on the blue suit, you understand that dogs are part of the problems you face,” Boyajian said. “You try to keep your eyes open and to keep your little personal radar going.”

Boyajian was among nearly 30 letter carriers whose dog radar got a fine-tuning Saturday from Matthew “Uncle Matty” Margolis, founder of a private West Los Angeles training school and host of a PBS series on dog behavior. At the post office on Van Nuys Boulevard near Delano Street, Margolis helped letter carriers prepare for spring and summer, when owners let their pets out more often and, postal workers say, dogs bite them more frequently.

Valley carriers have suffered 44 dog bites since October, consistent with previous years, said Terri Bouffiou, a Postal Service spokeswoman. But the need for additional training was underscored by two recent incidents in the Valley, station general manager Al Santos said.

In March, a letter carrier required stitches on his head after he was attacked by a German shepherd that had been sleeping on a Sherman Oaks porch. Last fall, a pit bull attacked a carrier in Panorama City. That man required weeks of antibiotic treatments, Santos said.

“Six days a week, they walk into a situation that’s like a minefield,” Margolis said of the letter carriers.

He said owners are responsible for a dog’s training, but many owners don’t understand that an animal that is friendly to them can be hostile to strangers.

“People make excuses for their dogs,” Margolis said.

He warned the carriers that dog behavior can be very difficult to predict.

Margolis encouraged carriers to blow a whistle when entering yards that appear to be vacant, since victims of most dog attacks are taken by surprise. He also told them not to try to pet or feed customers’ dogs.

He brought a German shepherd named Ulli, and a smaller Cardigan corgi, Pebbles, to demonstrate how to best approach the animals. Workers laughed nervously when Ulli affectionately licked one letter carrier sitting on a stool, minutes after barking at another who approached the dog directly.

Although letter carriers carry cans of dog repellent spray, they have little time to use it during a sudden attack, Margolis said. He urged them to back away sideways from growling dogs, and to use their mailbags as a shield.

Even dogs inside fences can be dangerous. In January, a German shepherd on Charlie Garcia’s route got its paws and mouth through a fence and snapped at him. He has a 2-inch gash in his satchel to prove it.

Boyajian said Margolis reaffirmed the value of being especially alert around dogs. “It’s stuff that we probably should have continually pounded back into us,” he said.

A videotape of the seminar will be shown to letter carriers in other offices, managers said.

Nearly 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year, according to Centers for Disease Control. About 750,000 are serious enough to require medical treatment.