USPS launches dog bite campaign [Video]

The United States Postal Service is urging pet owners to be responsible as part of their week-long dog bite awareness campaign.

KNX News’ Nataly Tavidian took a walk with Carlos Paragua, a mail carrier in Gardena, to learn more about how they protect themselves. He said mailmen carry a loud dog horn to scare aggressive dogs away.

Letter carriers experienced more than 65 dog bites in L.A. in the last year, the most attacks reported out of any U.S. city.

Want to get caught up on what’s happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.

In his mail route, there’s a lot of dogs – mostly pit bulls and German Shepherds. Paragua said he was once bitten by a German Shepherd on duty.

Luwanda Smith, the postmaster in Gardena, said in order to help protect letter carriers, she has issued them dog spray in addition to the dog horns. Mail carriers also …