Apparently America's preference for digital communication isn't the only thing the Postal Service is paying for.
While the Postmaster General is mulling the future of 3,700 post offices across the nation because of competition from e-mail and the Internet, there is another, lesser-known cost that the service has to deal with: medical expenses from dog attacks.
Nearly $1.2 million was spent on medical expenses for letter carriers who were attacked by dogs last year, according to a Postal Service news release published in May during National Dog Bite Prevention Week.
Last year 5,669 postal employees were attacked in more than 1,400 cities, with Houston by far the leader, the release says.
The top cities, and the number of attacks in each, are listed below.
1. Houston, Texas: 62 attacks
2. San Diego: 45 attacks
2 (tie). Columbus, Ohio: 45 attacks
4. Los Angeles: 44 attacks
5. Louisville, Ky.: 40 attacks
6. San Antonio, Texas: 39 attacks
6 (tie). St Louis: 39 attacks
8. Cleveland: 38 attacks
8 (tie). Phoenix, Ariz.: 38 attacks
10. Minneapolis, Minn.: 35 attacks
10 (tie). Portland, Ore.: 35 attacks
12. Denver: 31 attacks
12 (tie). Philadelphia: 31 attacks
14. Sacramento, Calif.: 30 attacks
15. Seattle: 28 attacks
See also: On mailman's dog blog, man's best friend is now the enemy