Mailman pepper sprayed my dog?
I had let my dog outside, around the side of the house, towards the back to go pee. The mailman came around the side of house, and the dog barked once, and he started yelling and put his hand on what I found out later was pepper spray. The dog started to run towards the mailman, barking, tail wagging.
I ran after her, and she stopped about six feet from the mailman, still sort of barking and her tail still wagging. Right as I was going to grab her collar, the mailman pepper sprayed her, backed up, tripped over a tree root, and fell.
I corralled the dog, put her inside, and in the meantime the mailman said he’s have to write a report on this, and said, "You crazy bitch, that dog needs to be put down!"
This is the first time he’s dealt directly with my dog. The dog is normally inside, and I’ve seen him on one occasion egging the dog on to bark, and then complain that the dog was "vicious".
I understand that as a responsible pet owner, I need to keep her inside when the mailman comes. However, he comes at all hours, so I cannot accurately predict when he will be there. Also, the dog was in the middle of peeing. He came up around the side of the house, towards the back yelling and advancing aggressively.
What, if any recourse, do I have? My dog was yelping in pain for twenty minutes, and got some up her nose. This is the first time ANYTHING like this has ever happened. Had I known the mailman was coming, I could’ve avoided this but I didn’t.
ALSO–the time he egged her on and called her vicious, she was inside the house. Behind a double paned window and a shut two-inch thick oak door. FYI
Apparently, he walked around the side of my house to cut through my lawn to deliver my neighbors mail, THAT is why he was so far around my house. We do not have a fence in the yard, as we moved in literally a week ago. When she’s outside, it’s around back, for 2 minutes TOPS
By sunstar, September 5, 2011 @ 5:00 am
Where is your mail box? Is it around the side of your house? I’m wondering why the mail man is walking around on your property?
Do you have fences to keep your dog contained at the back of your house?
Sorry for all the questions. I’m trying to get a picture of why this guy was roaming around the side of your house. Most folk have their mail box in front of the house.
If this mail man was where he shouldn’t have been I would have the sky fall on him and make a huge fuss. He may well write a report and I suggest you write your own account of what took place while it’s fresh in your mind.
It was a good suggestion someone made about checking out other dog owners in your area to see if they’re having problems with this guy.
He sounds like he’s a sandwich short of a picnic.
I hope your dog is ok. It would be a good idea to have the vet examine him if he’s still having any problems from the pepper spray.
By cw147, September 5, 2011 @ 5:00 am
Maybe next time he comes, pepper spray him in the face and see how he likes it.
By Beaa., September 5, 2011 @ 5:00 am
He has NO right to do this, and if he does report he’s gunna make an idiot of himself. I suggest you ask others in your area who have dogs and he’s their postman what their experiences are – I doubt your dog’s the only one that’s egged on to bark then is labelled ‘vicious’.
By Alanna E, September 5, 2011 @ 5:00 am
if your dog still in pain with pepper spray then take your dog to the vet and explain what happen. The vet could have medicine to get the pain away from the pepper spray.
By LJG, September 5, 2011 @ 5:00 am
You need to report this immedately.
The postal service is very serious about the safety of their carriers, but if carriers are doing the wrong thing, you need to make a formal complaint.
Not sure how far you’ll get without witnesses– after all, this is a "he said, she said" situation. But you certainly need to have your voice heard!
By Kati, September 5, 2011 @ 5:00 am
Your mailman sounds like a real jerk. Report him to his company. He had no right to do that.
By Lorraine, September 5, 2011 @ 5:00 am
When you look at how many mail people get bitten per year then you can’t wonder at them being a little nervous.
Mail people should have a safe secure place to deliver mail that dogs cannot get to at all. Whether that is a mail box on the edge of the property or like mine, where the post is put through a front door. My garden and most in UK are sectioned off to a front & back, and the dogs are only allowed in the back.
The only other alternative is to always collect your mail from a main office. If you want it delivered then you have to make sure it is safe for a mailman to deliver at any time of day. They cannot work around your hours.
However do agree that in this situation he shouldn’t of done this.
By NocturnalXIII, September 5, 2011 @ 5:00 am
Report him for animal cruelty or just bad conduct of his job? If a dog barks and then you go and yell at it, the dog is obviously going to act out of defensive instincts, thus he is in the wrong.
By RebelAir, September 5, 2011 @ 5:00 am
If you have ever been bitten, you know how painful it can be. Then you have to get the rabies series, which is so not fun.
In his job, he has to deal with all sorts of dogs — some mean and some friendly. He has no way of knowing which is which until he is bitten.
Also, pepper spray is painful for a while, but it will wear off after a while. I know this as a fact, since I have been on the receiving end of it several times. The only thing you can do is to try to rinse it off with plain water (no soap!).
Lastly, keep your dog away from the mailman. He was right, you were wrong. If you feel that the mailman is abusing the dog, though, file a complaint through the postmaster general or the postmaster (boss mailman) at the main post office.
By BYBs Care For Money Not Dogs, September 5, 2011 @ 5:00 am
Sorry to say, your dog should not have been outside off lead if you were not in total control. Even if she is perfectly friendly, you carrier didn’t know that and they are in a high risk for being bitten job.
I’m not saying he was *right* If you were right there and the dog’s tail was wagging, then of course, NO, he shouldn’t have pepper sprayed her. But legally, I think you were in the wrong because the dog was off lead.
If she is still having trouble I agree- get her to a vet, just in case.
ADDED:
It doesn’t matter legally- two minutes or two hours. If the dog was off lead and not under verbal control, you were in the wrong. Sorry, but that’s the way it is.