The Enid News and Eagle, Enid, OK

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February 22, 2008

Mail routes disrupted by canines loose in area, Enid postmaster says

By Cass Rains Staff Writer

For the second time this month, United States Postal Service has refused to deliver mail in an Enid neighborhood because of dogs running loose.

Vickie James, who lives in the 300 block of East Cotton-wood, said she hasn’t received her mail for a week, since a neighbor’s dog was seen loose in the area.

“We have not received any mail since Valentine’s Day,” she said. “I don’t see how the post office can carry on like this.”

James, whose mail was delivered Friday, said she’s lived in the neighborhood for 29 years and never had a problem such as this.

“Never, ever have we had a problem getting our mail,” she said. “We used to get our mail everyday like clockwork.”

Enid Postmaster Jeff Carroll said delivery was stopped in a portion of James’ neighborhood because of “dog problems.”

“If the dog is out there and people have shown to be irresponsible pet owners, they will continue to be irresponsible pet owners,” he said.

The same mail carrier responsible for the Cottonwood route also delivers to an area in North Kennedy, where another neighborhood had its service suspended, Carroll said.

But James said the problem with the loose dog in her neighborhood was resolved last week.

“The lady has picked the dog up and paid her fine, so deliver our mail,” James said. “The incident with her dogs was an accident.”

But more than one problem is needed before mail service will be disrupted, Carroll said.

“One occurrence does not curtail the delivery of mail,” he said. “I’ve spoken with customers who said they have seen dogs chase the carrier and (who) encountered the dogs themselves on occasions.”

“That’s just an area where we’ve had a quite a few dog problems.”

Carroll said the post office will ask residents on North Kennedy to move their mail boxes to the road.

“We are getting ready to give notices out for customers to install curb boxes,” he said.

He said with boxes near the curb, the carrier would be able to deliver mail from the road and lessen the concern about dogs.

For other areas with dog problems, Carroll said the pet owner is responsible.

“They need to get rid of it. We are looking for the owner to do something else with the pet,” he said. “We would appreciate it if they would have the dog restrained in the backyard or away from the box. They need to be tied up away from the mailbox or constrained in the backyard so we can deliver the mail.”

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