And to the people who suggest a fence won't necessarily contain the dog...THE LEASH DIDN'T CONTAIN THE DOG EITHER. And most importantly the fence is a LEGAL METHOD of dog containment, whereas keeping a dog tethered to a chain all day is considered cruel and inhumane by every veterinarian on Earth. If you can't afford a way to contain your dog indoors or in a contained area without a tether then you shouldn't be allowed to own a dog.

Why don't the police just remove the dog from the premises? It is illegal for the owners to leave ANY dog on a chain outside for more than one hour at a time. It is cruel and inhumane to leave a dog tethered to a chain all day and more importantly....it is ILLEGAL.

Pepper spray? No problem. I have a concealed carry permit and had to shoot and kill a dog that was snarling and snapping at my heels while I was trying to get out of my car in my own driveway one night. Honestly, I probably would have shot it even if I would have had some pepper spray on hand. I had reported the problem animal to the WPD a few weeks before and they talked to the owner, but a few days later and the dog was back, chasing people around the neighborhood when they let it out. The dog was a menace. I blame the owners more than the animal, but ya can't shoot them.

You people are pathetic! I am a mail carrier. I am also an animal lover. All animals love me. Yet sometimes certain dogs are aggressive. I have had a dog jump thru a closed glass window. Luckily the shattered glass cut him up and he stopped. Stop and think before you open your mouth. So what your dog is locked in house. If it is going crazy jumping at You people are pathetic! I am a mail carrier. I am also an animal lover. All animals love me. Yet sometimes certain dogs are aggressive. I have had a dog jump thru a closed glass window. Luckily the shattered glass cut him up and he stopped. Stop and think before you open your mouth. So what your dog is locked in house. If it is going crazy jumping at the glass then you shouldn’t get mail delivery. Mail delivery isn’t some kind of right. Clean up your trashy lives. Get your animals under control. Most of us carriers only use pepper spray and stop delivery as a last resort. Deal with it. Take responsibility for your mess of a life and quit blaming others for your problems.

Thinking about the poor people who have to go get their mail. I can't remember when I got something in the mail that I really wanted. I think a trip once a week should suffice. And a note about fences. Any time I've had a dog, I've also had a fence. But, I don't have a fence to protect people from my guys, but to protect my guys from all the crazy people running around out there. Point in fact. A few weeks after my friend & I moved here, we saw a guy in a pickup go out of his way to run over a river turtle. We thought maybe it was an accident until the guy stopped his truck & backed over the poor critter again, and drove off again over the turtle. We ran out but couldn't get a licence, and it was too late for the turtle. Some people are just mean and crazy. Guess it makes them feel like they're better somehow. About pepper spray. It should be that anyone carrying pepper spray to use on an animal should have to get a spray of it in their face first. Then, again every time they spray an animal with it, another shot to their own face to remind them of the actual pain the animal feels. And now, to top it all off, the animal is always wrong. A mail carrier gets bit, even the bite was in self defense, the dog gets dead. Yeh! That's fair. And if the carrier merely gets scared, 9 times out of 10, the dog gets dead. Makes me so proud to be a human.

plus... once you spray a dog with pepper spray... they remember you, and they next time they see you or smell you, they remember that and instantly get aggressive and protective. Just like people.. I guarantee you spray a person in the face with pepper spray the next time they see you, they will be aggressive towards you. Yet dogs cant reason???? how is that not reasoning? if they couldnt reason then t hey couldnt be house trained... is there no reason in "hmm i potty on the floor i get spanked, it hurts, i potty outside, nothing happens to me.. maybe I shouldnt potty in the house" You can fear what you dont understand, dogs have a body language like people you can tell when they are about to be aggressive or if they are being playful all in how they carry themselves and they act.

It says the dog "came after" the carrier... was the dog wagging his tail? my sister pit chases anyone who runs, but its with a wagging tail & in a playful manner. He thinks you want to play a game. some people over react & think any form of being chased is aggressive... Dogs can also tell when you are uneasy around them; that makes them feel threatened so they get aggressive. My sister new Carrier is TERRIFIED of dogs, she made her get a box by the street because she felt threatened when the dog was barking inside a locked & closed up house while my sister was at work. He never even got close to her, just barked through a closed and locked window! So if your scarred of dogs dont take a job that requires you to be around them! my mom is a carrier but she loves dogs and its funny how when she subs people notice their dogs are more at ease when she delivers their mail vs their normal carrier who is nervous around dogs. AS for the chain thing, it may be illegal, but its more human than a tiny kennel the poor dog cant turn around in. Id rather be on a long chain and have freedom to move about all day then be couped up in a small box all day. Better yet, house train your dog so it can stay inside all day and you wouldnt have to worry about it! Building a fence wont necessarily work, if the dog wants out, it will get out. my little 18in tall dog can clear a 6ft fence if theres a rabbit she wants to chase on the other side.. I've seen her do it hundreds of times. Is a 6ft privacy fence not sufficient for a 19lb cockerspaniel terrier mix? Im sure a pit could easily clear a sturdy fence like that if it REALLY wanted out. I've watched pervious dogs of mine climb chainlink, & get out of tall fences so many times that we had to cover the top of their section of the backyard with Chicken wire just to keep them in. Like a spoiled child if the dog wants something it will find a way to get it. Dogs are VERY smart animals, I'd say probably smarter than most people in todays society.

Basted, I'm sorry you got bit. Wish it had've been the "whacked out" guy waving a club at my dog. But of course not by my dog - by some phantom dog that was never found. Frankly, I posed more danger to the man than my dog did. The dog could not have gotten out had he been trying, which he wasn't - just barking and usually only barked a couple of barks to let me know the mailman was there, but hey, the stupid whatever kept waving a club at him. At the time, I lived alone, and barking whenever someone was at the door was his job. No one ever had complained about him before, or since then. He was never a vicious dog. He in the spring of 2000 after having bit a total of 0 (that's zero) people. By the way, I had a fenced-in back yard, and the dog had never been outside either on the front porch or in the front yard, save twice; once when he came to live with me, and then when we left that place. He couldn't get out the strangely shut, sturdy, locked, secure front door!!!

If the owners are not going to take responsiblity and take care of their dog properly, the dog should be removed. He probably is just trying to protect his family, but he obviously is a danger to others and the owners should be responsible enough to build a fence.

i dont know why everyone keeps on about the dog being on a chain. ok we get it its illegal we have all read a post about it at least six times probably now as for the mail delivery i side with the owners thats part of their family and i wouldnt get rid of my barking dog either. as for the po they need to be delivering to everyone else since the owners moved their address to across the street i dont see the problem anymore. so i say continue with the mail delivery