‘Control your dogs’, says bitten postman

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://home.bt.com/lifestyle/control-yo ... 3915818330" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;?

The image of the postman getting chased away by the dog of the house has become something of a comedy cliché, but for Jason Lee, there was absolutely nothing to laugh about when a dog bit a chunk out of his arm and his bum.

The 42-year-old postman was left scarred for life and off work for eight months after the attack last July. It took two months for him to be comfortable enough just to sit down – and the scars still hurt a year on.

Jason is just one of more than 3,300 postmen and women who were attacked by dogs last year. The number of attacks nationwide has risen by 8% since 2012, and they peak in the school holidays, according to the Royal Mail, which is launching Dog Awareness Week this week (June 30-July 4) to help dog owners understand why they need to be responsible and keep dogs under control when the postman rings.

Dog lover

Like many Brits, Jason’s always been a dog lover – his mum and dad had dogs when he was growing up and he’s also had his own, but understandably he’s “a hell of a lot more wary” of them now.

A postman for 20 years, he’d been doing the same round in Huddersfield for a decade when the attack happened on a normal, sunny Tuesday.

“I knew it like the back of my hand,” he says.

“I knew there was a dog at the property, and I had to deliver a parcel, so I stopped at the gate first, rattled it and called out. I could see the dog was at the end of the front room with its owner, so I waited for a few minutes before I decided to enter through the gate.”

No time to react

As he closed the gate behind him, the dog came flying out of the house, knocking him backwards into a fence.

“It hadn’t barked. I had no time to react, I just had to twist my body out of the way and put my arm up to protect myself. It was a Bull mastiff cross – it was a big dog.”

The dog bit a chunk out of his right forearm and bicep then, as Jason stumbled to his knees, circled him and “bit me on the bottom, hard, and took a chuck out of it”.

The owner eventually came out of his house and found his dog trying to shake Jason around like a toy by his arm. “The owner was more concerned about the dog than me,” says Jason.

It was only when the owner prised his dog’s mouth open that Jason managed to escape to safety and raise the alarm.

He needed stitches on his bottom and plastic surgery on his arm – and was in and out of hospital for weeks to have bandages changed and physio sessions to improve the grip on his right arm.

Lost independence

Back at home, he felt powerless to do anything. “I couldn’t sleep and had to learn to brush my teeth, feed, and clean with one arm,” he said.

“My independence was taken away from me. My mum had to take me shopping, my sister sent me food parcels. I couldn’t drive for five months.”

The experience was such a shock that his doctor recommended counselling, which helped.

“At the beginning I got very down and did get quite tearful,” Jason admits. “It was the shock and frustration. But I try not to think about it. I did lose a hell of a lot of confidence in myself.”

Back to work

It took eight months before Jason felt up to going back to work, but he returned to his Royal Mail duties this March.

“At first I was on light duties in the office and then I started a new round. There are some dogs on it but I’ve had no problems. I have jumped once or twice when a dog has jumped out at me but I try to carry on. You have to, otherwise you would never leave your house.

“My confidence is now slowly building up. I’m getting back to my normal self but it’s been a long, hard journey. I feel like I’ve come a long way.”

He wants Royal Mail customers who own dogs to be “more vigilant” and keep their animals under control and stresses. “It’s not funny at all, not funny in the slightest. You don’t know until it happens to you, do you?”

For more information and advice, visit http://www.royalmail.com/dogawareness" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;