Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe HOUSTON, May 24 (UPI) -- Houston has reclaimed the title for the most dog-bitten mail carriers in a year, bumping Orange County, Calif., into second place. The Houston district recorded 108 incidents in which letter carriers were bitten by dogs in 2005, while Orange County had 94, followed by Indianapolis with 83. Oakland and Cincinnati each reported 82 bites. Advertisement Houston topped the nation in bitten carriers from 1997 to 2000, the Houston Chronicle said Wednesday. In Orange County, if a carrier sees a loose dog, it is standard local policy to leave the neighborhood and skip delivery that day, the Orange County Register said. "We're not anti-dog, but pro-responsibility," said U.S. Postal Service spokesman Richard Maher, whose agency this week is marking National Dog Bite Prevention Week. The American Veterinary Medical Association said more than 4.5 million dog attacks were reported in the United States last year. Children were the targets of about half of those attacks -- 20 were fatal -- followed by the elderly and letter carriers.
