For Long Island mail carriers, risk of dog bites while on their route comes with the job

For Long Island mail carriers, dogs are not their best friends.

Nassau and Suffolk combined for 83 bites to mail carriers last year, making up nearly 26% of the statewide total of 322 in 2024.

Long Island's total was above that of cities including Rochester, the leading city with 23 bites, and Manhattan, which counted a dozen attacks, according to the U.S. Postal Service.

The Postal Service is launching its annual dog bite awareness campaign that highlights the risk to mail carriers. 

On Long Island, the leading communities for dog bites were Hempstead, Bay Shore and Amityville, each of which recorded four bites last year, according to the Postal Service. Nassau County had 43 dog bites last year and 40 bites were reported in Suffolk County.

Mail carriers in Hicksville said they were concerned every day about dogs on their routes.

Diana Villatoro, 57, of Franklin Square, whose route is based in Hicksville, has been delivering mail for 23 years. She said she was bitten by a stray Doberman on her route about 15 years ago.

"Every day, all day, you have to be very observant out there to everything that's around you, especially the dogs," Villatoro said. "You’re afraid that you’re going to get bit."

Villatoro said she was delivering mail to a home when she sensed a dog behind her. She reached into her mail bag and tried to grab a can of dog repellent spray.

"Of course, my adrenaline starts going, but I tried to stay calm. I tried to put my hand down as slow as possible," she said. "As I reached into my bag, that's when he grabbed onto my hand. I was trying to knock on the customer's door ... but the dog had latched onto my hand for a good eight to 10 seconds."

Although a homeowner helped Villatoro treat her wound, she required stitches and a series of rabies shots.

She sees about 30 dogs on her route each day, which includes more than 500 deliveries to Jericho. She also serves as an on-the-job instructor, training other carriers how to handle dogs and other hazards.

Carriers are advised not to wear headphones and are told to stay aware of their surroundings, Villatoro and Hicksville Postmaster Annette D'Amato said.

Hicksville did not report any dog bites last year, which postmasters attribute to training and precaution when approaching homes with potentially dangerous dogs.

D’Amato said one of her carriers was previously bitten on the shoulder, and she was chased by a Rottweiler about 25 years ago in Babylon.

Carriers now carry dog spray, a non-harmful pepper spray they can use in the vicinity of a dog lunging toward them. Carriers also hand out dog warning cards among one another to warn fellow delivery persons about potentially dangerous dogs at certain addresses. The cards read, "Do not deliver mail if you feel endangered by an animal."

"Especially in the summer, dogs are out and you learn to check gates. You never know what a dog is thinking even if an owner says it doesn’t bite," D’Amato said. "My first priority is to make sure my carriers are safe."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.