JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville ranked as Florida’s highest-ranked city on the U.S. Postal Service’s latest list of dog attacks on mail carriers, recording 19 incidents and placing No. 29 nationally in 2025.
Miami was the only other Florida city to appear on the list, ranking No. 31 with 16 incidents. Florida ranked seventh among states with 183 reported attacks.
The rankings, released annually by USPS ahead of Dog Bite Awareness Month on June 1, compared dog bite incidents involving postal workers across 33 cities and 10 states in 2025.
Although both the national and Florida totals declined slightly, the latest data suggests dog attacks on mail carriers continue to be a persistent issue across the state and country.
USPS reported more than 5,200 dog attacks involving mail carriers in 2025, down from more than 5,800 incidents reported the previous year. Florida also remained seventh nationwide, reporting 183 attacks compared with 193 the year before.
The new rankings were released less than a year after Florida’s Pam Rock Act took effect. Named for Putnam County mail carrier Pamela Rock, who was fatally mauled while delivering mail in 2022, the law strengthened Florida’s dangerous dog regulations and increased penalties for owners who fail to comply with them.
Lawmakers said the changes were intended to close gaps in Florida law and prevent future attacks.
USPS officials urged dog owners to take precautions during mail delivery, including keeping dogs secured inside the home or behind fences and avoiding direct interactions between pets and mail carriers. The agency noted that even dogs that are normally friendly can act unpredictably when they perceive a stranger approaching their territory.
“Letter carriers are exposed to potential hazards every day, none more prevalent than a canine encounter. All it takes is one interaction for a letter carrier to possibly suffer an injury,” Leeann Theriault, manager of employee safety and health awareness at USPS, said. “The U.S. Postal Service consistently encourages responsible pet ownership. The national dog bite campaign is an effort to promote dog bite awareness to keep our customers, their dogs, and letter carriers safe while delivering the mail.”
