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By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief
GREENWOOD TOWNSHIP — A 42-year-old U.S. Postal Service rural mail carrier was hospitalized following a dog attack on Saturday, Nov. 15. The incident occurred at a residence in the 5000 block of 164th Avenue.
The mail carrier, Anna Dukes, based out of the Hesperia Post Office, said she has been working for the postal service for about a year and a half and has delivered to the home several times, never seeing a dog, though there is a “beware of dog” sign in the yard.
“I was delivering a package to this house,” Dukes said. “I was aware that there was a warning sign, but had never seen a dog there, or ever heard it bark before. Per protocol, I honked my vehicle’s horn when I pulled into the driveway. There was no sign of a dog.”
Dukes said she then walked up to the house and before she reached the door, a pit bull dog busted through the screen door.
“It first grabbed the package by the teeth, then it latched onto my arm,” she said. “I screamed for help but nobody came out of the house. Then I started hitting it in the head with my other hand and it finally let go of my arm. I grabbed its collar to keep it away from me. That worked for a few seconds and then it got away and bit my other hand. I started kicking the dog and then it finally walked away from me and back into the house.”
Dukes said the homeowner came out of the house as Dukes was running back to her vehicle.
“The lady came to the door and she didn’t say anything. She saw me bleeding.”
According to a report filed with the Oceana County Sheriff’s Office, the homeowner said she was watching a football game on television when she heard screaming. She told the deputy that she thought the screaming was on the TV.
“(She) advised that because of her age, she was unable to rush to get to what was going on and upon finally getting to the door, the attack was over and the dog came inside of the house,” the report states.
Dukes’s husband then transported her to Corewell Health Gerber Hospital in Fremont where she spent two days in the hospital.
“I have a lot of nerve damage,” Dukes said.
“I really want people to know that it is package season as we near the holidays and that they really need to make sure that their dogs are unable to get out of the house when they know the postal carrier or other delivery services are coming. They shouldn’t be out in the yards either. This is a very serious issue and it was very traumatic.”
According to the sheriff’s report, the matter has been turned over to Oceana County Animal Control. Dukes said the postal service is also investigating the case and she is seeking legal counsel regarding the matter.
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