Good Lifestyle

Your mailbox serves a very simple goal: to receive mail and leaving the outgoing mail so that an operator can pick up. However, some of us like to embarrass our mailboxes, adding a personal flair, a color or even decals to help an otherwise standard mailbox to stand out. But if you notice a PAW print sticker on your mailbox that you have not added, do not yet start to take it off - that is probably part of a program managed by the American postal service (USPS) to help ensure the safety of carriers. Read the rest to discover what these stickers mean and why you shouldn't withdraw them.

Read this then: USPS makes these changes to your mail .

In 2022, more than 5,300 postal services were Attacked by dogs During the delivery of the mail, according to a press release on June 1 of the USPS. The big cities led the peloton in terms of number of attacks - with Houston, Los Angeles and Dallas claiming the first three places.

"When transporters of letters broadcast mail in our communities, dogs who are not secure or on a leash can become a sworn and unpredictable enemy and attack," Leeann Theriault , Said USPS employee employees in the press release. "Help us deliver your mail safely by keeping your dog safe and away before your operator arrives."

Even if you think your dog is docile and friendly, the agency writes that "all dogs can bite, even those perceived as non -aggressive". In fact, many attacks that the letters of letters have reported have been by dogs which the owners said to them: "My dog will not bite."

For Combat dog cocks , the postal service included a note on how animal owners can "take care of the delivery of safe mail". The advice included keeping the dogs inside the house or behind a fence, far from the door or in another room, or on a leash.

The operators also follow a protocol to take them into account the areas where dogs can be present, and they are equipped with scanners to remind them of the risks for possible dogs, as well as dog warning cards which are added during sorting mail. But in 2020, the USPS added another preventive measure: the PAWS program . Introduced for the first time in Pennsylvania, the program uses stickers to help email factors, which you may notice on your mailbox.

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The PAWS program uses color coded stickers affixed to the mailboxes to inform dog operators in the region. An orange sticker with a black leg print indicates to the carriers that there is a dog in this house, while a yellow sticker with a black paw print tells them that there is a dog at the next house.

Although this was implemented for the first time in Pennsylvania, the PAWS program has since extended to states like Minnesota ,, South Dakota , And Tennessee . Recently, other communities have seen the introduction of PAW stickers, including those of Lakewood, Ohio, and Winston-Salem, in North Carolina. According to WGHP affiliated with Fox, 117,000 households 20 cities of North Carolina Currently participate in the PAWS program. AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

Citizens are informed in advance that stickers can appear on their mailboxes. In a notice sent to Lakewood, Ohio, residents, the postal service wrote: "Transporters will soon place a leg sticker on mailboxes to indicate that a dog or a dog live in the region —Yellow indicates a nearby dog / orange indicates a dog at the residence. The sticker will act as a reminder to the carrier that he should be cautious, in particular during the delivery of packages to the door. ""

The deletion of these stickers can do more harm than good, as your email service can be interrupted If your carrier does not feel safe. Not only does this affect the home of the owner of the dog, but applies to the entire district, but said the USPS in the June 1 press release. The service is not restored in these cases "until the aggressive dog is correctly retained".

Finally leave the sticker on your mailbox.

"We love all our dogs," Kimberly Tilley , the acting post owner for Winston-Salem, told WGHP. "We love our animals, but we must ... take responsibility to protect the wearer and the people who also surround our animals."

Tilley added that dog bites are more common than you think, and they can be traumatized for carriers. "Once a carrier has been bitten, it scares the rest of their lives in the long term," she said at the point of sale.

However, although these stickers are highly recommended, if you oppose a sticker placed on your mailbox, You can unsubscribe ,, Kyle Stevens , The director of the annex station of the South West carrier in the southern Dakota, told Kelo in 2021. To do this, the first step would be to contact your local post office.