My heart broke a little more on Thursday, when I got a text from The Pony before noon. I'd been dreading it. Every time my phone buzzed, I had a feeling it was something bad about The Pony. I don't feel like that every day, but since I had talked to The Pony at 6:00 a.m., I felt that way on Thursday. With each check of the phone I was relieved that it was someone else. Yet the next buzz would put me in a panic again. Finally, the shoe dropped.
"Well. Guess what happened again."
I got a brief glimpse of the picture before I put my glasses on. My mind kept assuring itself that The Pony had merely fallen and skinned a knee. My mind was a dirty dirty liar. When I looked at the picture, I felt a wave of heat and weakness flood my body. I guess it was adrenaline.
"NOOOOOO!"
"I should probably report it but I don't want to deal with that again and I've already got the antibiotic ointment since the other isn't even healed yet."
"Rabies info?"
"Guy said they're vaccinated. Good enough for me. Little yappy thing that jumped up. Because some people with boxes on their porch just can't wait until I'm outside the fence to get their mail."
"Well. Small chance of a house dog having rabies, anyway. That's gonna bruise."
"Just don't know how much longer I can deal with this."
"At least you've had a tetanus shot, and know the treatment protocol. I don't have a solution."
"Not any good solutions, yeah."
"Maybe bid on another route?"
"Next one coming open is worse. It has the druggy part by the produce distributor being sued for not paying the non-citizens enough, plus the Nazi tattoo shop."
"Forget THAT!"
Just before 5:00, The Pony sent another picture:
"Update after bandaging."
"Dang, that bruised fast! You can see the other teeth pressure points."
"It hurts. I think this one was, like, a French bulldog."
"They can't breathe right! And can't have pups without a C-section. Maybe biting is their forte." [Let the record show that the sole source of my knowledge is what I've seen on The Incredible Dr. Pol.]
"I guess. I don't know what else can go wrong this month!"
Around 8:00, The Pony sent me a bedtime picture. Shows off his mailman's tan, too!
"Not even 12 hours yet. I'm just gonna rest and hopefully wake up in time to test how stiff the leg is as the bruise keeps developing. We'll see how it goes."
Poor, poor, Pony! It's not the dogs' fault. They are just doing what dogs do. Protecting their people because somebody is in the yard or on the porch. It's the owners who deserve the blame, for putting the dog and the mailman in that situation.
The Pony DID report the incident to his manager right after it happened. The Universe owes The Pony an apology. This is two bites in two weeks.
That is scary. I am terrified of dogs, anyway. Now, it is scarier. Reporting is the best because in case it gets worse. I could not stand to wonder if my child were being bit. Can he carry a cattle prod? Something to defend himself?
ReplyDeleteEach carrier is issued a can of dog spray when they start, along with the satchel, a mini first aid kit, a water bottle, and a cap. I think the dog spray is like pepper spray. Some carriers say that an air horn works better, to scare away a charging dog. Problem is, this one came from behind, so The Pony didn't see it in time to reach for the dog spray, or swing his satchel around and block part of the bite.
DeleteHonestly, I don't know what to say but perhaps The Pony could show the owners of the dogs who bite him either what the bite actually looks like after being bitten or at least pictures of what he's showing to you. I don't think the owners realize the awfulness of their dog's bite.
ReplyDeleteThe owners see a bleeding hole, and think it doesn't look too bad. They don't realize it's a crush injury, the jaws squeezing with a lot of pressure to get that tooth to puncture the skin. As you might imagine, The Pony is not keen on encountering the owners or the dog again, any more than necessary for doing his job.
DeleteNow I know why my mail delivery person rarely leaves her vehicle.
ReplyDeleteThe Pony had a route like that. It was mainly businesses over in Bill-Paying town. Only getting out for them, and the rest putting mail in boxes along the streets. He bid on this other route with some walking loops, because he likes Backroads better than driving 20 minutes over to Bill-Paying town to start.
DeleteI wouldn't complain about getting paid for driving 40 minutes a day to and from the route, in a company vehicle. Time is money.
Boy that did bruise up quick and dark! I htink prperties with dogs should all have their mailboxes at the front of the property on the fence so The Pony and other mail carriers don't have to walk to the house. Here in Australia all mailboxes are at the edge of the footpath either on the fence or right behind it. In the case of flats and units thta don't have fences, like where I live, there are several banks of eight mailboxes each, on the footpath along the driveway. Any dogs here are kept inside, most people don't have pets and I only know of two dogs.
ReplyDeleteDo you have a spare Suit-of-Armour lying around that The Pony can borrow? Chainmail trousers? Long-leg Lederhosen?
Yes, that bruise is even bigger today. And French bulldogs supposedly have one of the lower bite pressures. Around 200 psi (pounds per square inch), compared to the previous biter, the Cane Corso, at 600 psi. I guess The Pony really was lucky to have his arm partially in the satchel for that beast!
DeleteI guess mail used to be delivered to every door, and then as neighborhoods built up, some got the curbside boxes. All I know is that to move a mailbox, the owner has to get it approved by the post office. Routes are based on time, and moving a box will throw off the path of the carrier.
You never know that Hick might have in his SUS2 merchandise. Or he might find such garments for The Pony at an auction. If he really wanted it, I bet Hick "knows a guy" who can make it happen!
Post Office approval?? Really? The home owner owns the box and surely can move it to a more convenient location? In my opinion, moving a box from a front porch to the sidewalk fence or where a fence would (should) be, would be an improvement on delivery times.
ReplyDeleteYes. Technically, every box is property of the post office, even though the homeowner buys it. So they can prosecute people for putting stuff in there, like ads and flyers, without paying for postage.
DeleteMore people would want to move their box from the sidewalk to their porch, for convenience. So there has to be a uniform rule about moving the boxes.
That is a really bad bruise, I can understand not wanting to go through the hassle of workman's comp, but he really should have in case he gets a blood clot in that leg. I think the post office should send out warnings to those people with dogs. They could include a icture of Pony's injury. If the dog owner fails to keep their dogs under control, they have to go the post office to get their mail.
ReplyDeleteI agree that The Pony should have gone back to the urgent care, but at least he reported it, so there's evidence that it happened. Along with the pictures. The usual process is to make the biter's humans come pick up their mail. I guess maybe it depends on what the carrier recommends. The Pony thinks this was actually and accident, the guy opening the door to get his mail, not realizing The Pony wasn't out of the yard yet.
Delete