'I will never be the same person after dog attack'

A postal worker said she will "never quite be the same person" after she was attacked by a dog while doing a morning round.

Sharing her experience to persuade pet owners to be more responsible, Katy Davies suffered five puncture wounds, two which required stitches and tendon damage after a dog sunk its teeth into her leg while working in Bristol in January.

Royal Mail said there was 2,019 dog attacks on its workers in the last year, which it said is "unacceptably high".

Davies said: "One of the puncture wounds took weeks, if not months, to heal properly, and I still live with the effects of the injury today."

This story contains graphic images of a dog bite

Davies knew the dog in question and said it had not shown aggression towards her before, which is one reason why she wanted owners to be particularly careful.

Davies said she was unable to walk unaided for three weeks or work or drive for three months while she recovered from the attack.

"The wounds later became badly infected, which made an already painful recovery even more difficult," she said.

Davies said while she was not scared of dogs, she was now much more cautious.

"Your dog may be the friendliest dog in the world, but animals can act unpredictably," she said.

"Keeping your dog safely secured before opening the door or accepting a delivery can prevent serious incidents from happening," she added.

The number of dog attacks on postal workers was down 8% in the last year, but around half happened at the front door, a 4% increase.

One in four incidents took place in a garden, drive or yard and there were 135 attacks in the street or road. Attacks through a letterbox caused 324 injuries.

Lizz Lloyd, health and safety director at Royal Mail, said: "While it's encouraging to see dog attacks on our colleagues fall by 8% last year, these incidents remain a serious risk to postal workers, resulting in painful injuries and lasting distress.

"We continue to raise awareness of the issue among the public, but preventing attacks starts at the doorstep.

"We're urging dog owners to take simple steps, such as keeping pets secure before opening the door, to help keep our people safe," she added.

Davies said using dog gates or setting up an external letterbox can also help.

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