Canada Post dealing with more incidents involving dogs in rural P.E.I.

Canada Post employees on P.E.I. have been experiencing an increase in dog-related incidentsin rural areas of the province.

The organization defines incidents as anything that makes an employee feel unsafe, up to and including bites from animals.

In 2018, Canada Post said it only had two incidents involving dogs on P.E.I.

In 2019, there wereeightincidents in total, with four in December alone. According to Canada Post, these incidentshappened mostly in rural P.E.I. when mail carriers were delivering packages to homes.

Some of those incidents required first aid and medical attention, said Jon Hamilton, a spokesperson for Canada Post.

"One was actually very serious and that individual had to take some time off work to recover after going to the hospital," he said.

Because of the increase, Canada Post stopped door delivery at some homesin rural Island communities for an 11-day period, between Dec.16, 2019 and Jan. 2, 2020.

"If an item had to be delivered to the door for a signature or safe drop we would card that item.So it was still available, but we wouldn't ring the doorbell."

We can go as far as suspending delivery, but we do everything in our power to avoid that. Jon Hamilton, Canada Post

Hamilton said all mail delivery was still happening to community mailboxes, just home delivery was ceased during that period.

"We tried to minimize delivery disruptions to our customers, but we had to keep our people safe," he said.

After conversations with certain homeowners who own dogs, the safety issues were addressed and service returned to normal, said Hamilton.

Busy time of year

Hamilton said he's not sure what has contributed to the rise in incidents, but notes the spike happened during a time where Canada Post carriers are visiting more people's doors.

"In December we're delivering a lot more parcels and packages, we're going to the door a lot more because, you know, the amount of online shopping," he said.

"It's our busiest time of year so it may just be the odds that we are just out more often, or people aren't used to getting a parcel during the year ... and they open the door quickly to sign for the parcel and the dog gets out."

We do enforce the provincial Dog Act here on P.E.I. Jennifer Harkness, P.E.I. Humane Society

When an operator does experience an incident, Canada Post follows up with the homeowner to hopefully remedy the situation. The P.E.I. Humane Society also gets involved.

"We can go as far as suspending delivery, but we do everything in our power to avoid that because at the end of the day we're just looking to find ways to ensure that our people and anyone else that may come up to the house is safe," said Hamilton.

He said Canada Postasks dog owners to keep dogs inside, in a fenced up yard or tied up away from the mailbox or front door to avoid any incidents when mail carriers come to the door.

"We have no issues with dogs. It's just that some could become a little excited. Some can be a little bit more protective of their family and an issue can occur in a blink of an eye," he said.

Humane society helps investigate

Incidents do get reported to the P.E.I. Humane Society, which can assist bysendingan investigator to the site of an incident,saidJennifer Harkness, the society's development manager.

In those investigations, the society determines if it was a situational, one-time occurrence and if the dog is aggressive and likely a danger to the community, said Harkness.

"We do enforce the provincial Dog Act here on P.E.I., and we also work with different municipalities as well to enforce their municipal dog bylaw," she said.

Under the DogAct, a peace officer or enforcement officer can commence a proceeding in provincial court against a dog owner if the dog has bitten or attacked a person.

Those owners can then be ordered to take further measures to better control the dog, the dog could be seized, or destroyed. Owners can also face fines between $100 and $5,000.

Harkness said the size or breed of a dogdoesn't matter when it comes to incidents at the door.

"It's so situational so, I think if your dog is acting fearful or has acted aggressive toward strangers before, then that is something whether your dog is outside of the house or inside of the house to be aware of," she said.

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