WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The U.S. Postal Service is putting a south Wichita neighborhood on notice. Sixty-five residents near Mount Vernon and South Spruce were given two options to install a new mailbox by the curb or have their mail returned to the sender.

The USPS claims unrestrained dogs are to blame. Residents like John Buck are calling that into question.

“We want to know what the policy is, how the policy works, what decisions are being made, and is there an appeals process?”

Buck is the president of the Meade Neighborhood Association says he has they have been trying to reach out to the USPS.

“No calls, no emails, nothing back from them.”

Councilman James Clendenin says this is not the first time it has happened in Wichita.

“We’ve been dealing with this for a long time, and residents are livid about it.”

Clendenin says the city has been proactive to curb issues dealing with stray animals preventing mail carriers from making deliveries.

“We have a dedicated number that we have given the post office to use for animal control issues. Our animal control department has said that they have not gotten any calls in on that number,” he said.

Wichita Animal Control’s Lt. Brian Sigman says the hotline has been active for two years. He says the calls they receive aren’t always for dog attacks.

“They might see a dog running loose in the area, it’s not attacking anybody. A lot of them might be situations like that very minor.”

In the meantime, Buck says he will continue to ask questions about the postal service’s claims that loose dogs are a problem in his neighborhood.

“We want our postal carriers to be safe, but we also want to make sure that the policy isn’t being abused, and they’re not just doing it for the sake of a faster more efficient delivery service,” he said.

KSN has reached out to the postal service for answers regarding the dog incidents in question and the policy. We are still waiting for a response.

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