If you own a dog and live in Hamilton, Canada Post has a message for you.

The crown corporation issued a safety reminder early Tuesday to emphasize the importance of its employees’ well-being when accessing mailboxes across the region.

“Every day, our employees deliver to approximately 228,000 homes in Hamilton,” it said. “Many of these households have dogs, and our delivery agents encounter them every day while delivering mail and parcels.”

A similar message was issued to those who live in St. Catharines, Guelph, Brantford, Simcoe County and the Kitchener-Waterloo region.

In the last year alone, Canada Post says there have been 550 dog interactions that its staff have been involved in, across the country.

It’s an unfortunate number, but an improvement from the previous year which saw 600 incidents occur, nationwide.

A spokesperson from the letter carrier says the decrease comes from its ongoing dog awareness program and public outreach.

Canada Post says that employee safety is its top priority and asks residents to take the following steps to protect them from harm:

• When answering the door for a delivery, take care not to let your dog slip out;
• Keep dogs inside, in a fenced yard or tied up far from the front door or mailbox;
• Keep access points like front doors and fence gates closed; and,
• Keep dogs away from any door with a mesh screen, even if it is locked. Dogs often cannot see the mesh and can easily break through the thin layer of woven fabric.

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