Postmaster Bill Borum and Supervisor Brandon Hatteberg announced that the Post Office, at 226 W. Main Street, Morrison, IL, will sponsor a spring coloring contest for children ten and under, to promote dog bite awareness. One winner, chosen by U. S. Postal Service employees, will win a $25 Visa gift card.
Last year’s 2725 United States Postal Service employees were among the estimated 4.7 million Americans bitten by dogs. Sadly, more than 2,000,000 of these victims were children.
- Dog bites inflict needless pain and suffering upon our delivery team.
- Unrestrained dogs impact our ability to provide efficient and economical service to customers.
- Medical expenses; Worker’s Compensation; legal, delivery curtailment; carrier replacement; other costs associated with dog bite incidents are estimated to exceed $25 million annually for the U. S. Postal Service.
Letter carriers represent less than one half of one percent of all reported dog bite victims. For each letter carrier bitten, hundreds of children needlessly suffer the trauma of a bite. In many instances this is from an animal that, according to its owner, “wouldn’t hurt a fly.” On average, ten-to-20 children die each year from dog bite-related injuries.
When canine owners act responsibly everyone benefits. The mail gets delivered, and letter carriers can serve their customers safely. It also leads to one less hazard for children and the pain and expense of a bite. Just as important, dogs are allowed to be the loving pets that everyone wants them to be.
Coloring pictures may be picked up in our lobby Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to noon. Children must have their colored pictures turned in by Wednesday, May 18, 2016.