When relief postal worker Matthew Maynard went out to deliver a parcel on his daily rounds, he didn't expect to fear for his safety, but fear he did when met with an unexpected situation.
The Canberra postie was delivering a parcel to an address with a German Shepherd, who his co-worker had advised was usually locked up. But he said when he arrived all he could hear was the dog barking.
He returned to his bike and was soon met with a scary sight.
"I turned around and the German Shepherd's actually come out of the house, the owners have left the gate open, and he's coming at me full charge," said Mr Maynard.
He said he rushed to get on his bike and "get the heck out of there". But "the dog actually ended up staying with me and he got me on the back of the boot and tried to bite the side of the bike," he said.
This sort of situation is something that Australian posties are finding all too common. Mr Maynard is just one of the thousands who have been affected by vicious dogs when trying to deliver mail, with many workers suffering serious injuries.
Data released by Australia Post this week found that 1277 dog-related attacks have occurred in the past six months nationwide.
Though posties are equipped with the ability to lodge hazard warnings for particular addresses, with more serious cases alerted to councils, many of these cases stay unresolved.
Australia Post is urging local councils to take the threat of dog attacks seriously.
Mr Maynard said the ACT government was making a good effort so far, with one owner being fined because of repeat offences and near misses involving the same dog.
He said even though in his experience many dogs have been friendly "you're always just a bit curious or cautious about what could happen".
More measures are being taken by Australia Post as they work with relevant state and territory governments, advocating for changes to animal management laws.
Posties have been told not to make a delivery if they feel it is unsafe to do so.
"We want to please our customers, but our safety is the number one concern, so that would affect deliveries," said Mr Maynard.
The threat looms even bigger as the holiday season approaches. Days like Black Friday and Christmas that bring an expected surge in package deliveries mean the number of dog encounters increases and so does the risk of attacks.
When asked what dog owners can do, Mr Maynard said he advised people to provide clear signage if there is a dog on the property and ensure their pets are safely contained.
