DH bitten by dog whilst posting parcel

[Againstthegrainn]

DH was posting a parcel through the letterbox when he was bitten badly on 2 fingers.

Nobody was home. Customers are asked to tick the box that says they have a dog/cat however this customer did not. There was no sign up saying there is a dog either. There was no barking which is why DH proceeded to post, usually if he hears barking he will not put his hand anywhere near the letterbox

He had to leave work early and get to Urgent Care as it was bleeding a lot and also needs the Tetanus shot.

When he reported this to his manager, he was told they'll just write to the customer and request that they tick the box that says they have a pet.

I would hope that once the owners find out what happened, they'd take measures to avoid this happening again i.e. cage/box to drop parcels/leaflets/letters into but if this does happen again, is there anything else that can be done? Or not really as the dog is in their own home? Do postmen/delivery drivers just have to accept they might get bitten?

It has happened to dh's colleagues and one of them ended up leaving the job after a dog ran out the house and chased him down the street. It's just unfair when people are trying to do their jobs

How was he bitten? Did he put his hand through the letter box?

Dogs can be a menace, when I worked on the post years ago you were told never to put your fingers through the letter box, push things through from the back of the item. And there were houses where you rattled the gate before you opened it to see if the dog was loose if it was you didn't try to deliver.

He was bitten when he tried to push a parcel through. That question does of course make me think that yes you shouldn't put your hand through far enough where a dog could bite it. Fine. What happens though when you need to post a "sorry we missed you" card (bendy and small) or a leaflet that would end up crumpled unless you push it through properly?

Happy to be told this is dh's fault btw but needed somewhere to chat about it!

seriously

Can he not sue them?. He should take pictures showing there are no warning signs on their property.

DM delivers leaflets and uses a small wooden spatula to post them.

Surely which ever delivery office he works for has a protocol on this kind of thing? what have they advised he do?

I assume DH is a new postie.. perhaps this is a lesson learned for him, don't be putting your fingers through letter boxes when you don't know whats on the other side?

I don't think anyone is particularly 'to blame'. The house owners have not informed the post office they have a dog, and to be honest, I didn't know you had to do this! and really, its a bit of a gamble putting your fingers through a letterbox when you have no idea whats at the other side.

i used to deliver leaflets with my partner and he armed me with the same warning me never to put my fingers through the box

I do like the wooden spatula idea especially for the "sorry we missed you cards" lesson learned the hard way today. Thank you all.

Not saying it's his fault but he definitely shouldn't put his fingers through the letter box - not only the risk of getting bitten but also just fingers getting trapped if the lid snaps shut.

I don't think it is necessarily the home owner's fault either - the dog was secured inside their property and they probably didn't expect anyone to stick fingers through the letter box.

A spatula or postie mate sounds like a good idea going forward.

I'm struggling to understand how/why he has out his hand theiught he letterbox far enough to have been bitten. Surely you just push the parcel theough the letterbox?

I have never been asked to confirm if I have a dog for any parcel being delivered, I'm not sure I would declare it if I was asked.

We were sued for same thing , young lads delivering flyers but her fingers (and long nails) through the letter box and dog ripped a nail off - no idea what she got from it as house insurance dealt with it but we had a visit from police and now have a postal cage fitted internally (which the dog now bites instead of stray fingers)

The loss adjuster told us that even though the dog was inside our home and being ‘protective’ we were responsible for its actions - same if someone put a hand over a fence or similar and was bitten

Never been asked about having dogs before getting anything delivered.

An old cat I used to have used to lacerate anything that entered the letter box. Fingers included!

Postmen & women can refuse to deliver to addresses with uncontrolled dogs.

My sister was delivering some leaflets about a scout event. The leaflets were flimsy and she stuck her fingers through on letter box. A dog grabbed her fingers and wouldn’t let go. The owner prised her fingers out of the dog’s mouth. She takes a ruler now.

Yes you are responsible for your dog’s actions in your home. What if you had a fire and your dog attacked the fireman coming to save you.
People no longer put up ‘beware of the dog’ signs as that implies the dog could be dangerous.

Please say you mean a false/gel nail? The thought of it's making me shudder.

Chandler Bing lives on! ❤️

Sue them

I advocate that if a dog harms someone, the owner should face the same criminal charge as if they caused the harm directly themselves. This is yet another reason.

Hope the OPs DH makes a full and swift recovery.

I'd hope the police would act if it is reported to them, but not confident this would be the case.

The police would act, but not sure there would be an outcome. as most have said, even though the dog was within its own home and protecting its own property, the owners have a responsibiity to ensure visitors are safe and protected also.

The postie, really shouldn't have been poking his/her fingers through the letter box in the first place.

So the Police would take the report and would speak to both parties but thats as far as it would go i think.

I think the employer needs to take this seriously. It cannot be a new, unknown, hazard of the job and especially as the consequences can be severe, should be (a) covered in their risk assessment processes and (b) awareness and training (yes for many people not poking fingers through a letterbox might be obvious, it clearly wasn’t for your husband and so should be part of a basic induction briefing). At the very least, they should be issuing reminders to delivery teams, especially if an incident has actually happened.
If I was a dog owner and this happened, I would want to know, especially if the dog is quiet. But I wouldn’t take responsibility for strange fingers poking through to be honest, I would likely fit a cage or something,

I have never been asked to declare a pet for a delivery!

My son has just started working as a postman and he says they have to hold the box open carefully with one hand, and push the leaflet/letter through with the other.

But he finds it almost impossible if there's a draught excluder brush on the other side.