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2 Great Danes maul mail carrier handing package to homeowner, NC police say

Two Great Danes attacked a mail carrier as she handed a package to a homeowner in Lenoir on Thursday, Police Chief Brent Phelps said Friday.

The dogs pushed past the homeowner and attacked the 47-year-old U.S. Postal Service worker at the front door of the home just before 2 p.m., Phelps said in a Lenoir Police Department news release.

The home is in the 900 block of Norwood Street Southwest, off U.S. 321.

The homeowner immediately controlled the dogs and gave the mail carrier first aid, the chief said.

The postal worker suffered severe injuries to her right forearm and puncture wounds to her back and right leg, according to the release.

She was taken to Caldwell UNC Healthcare and then flown to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, Phelps said. Her condition wasn’t available Friday.

Caldwell County Animal Care Enforcement took possession of the dogs, Phelps said.

The 4-year-old dogs had never bitten anyone, their owner told police.

No dog-related calls at the home had been reported to police in the past, Phelps said. He said he expects no criminal charges to be filed in the case.

The USPS is unable to comment about details of the attack while the incident remains under investigation, spokesman Philip Bogenberger told The Charlotte Observer.

“The safety of our employees and customers is our top priority,” Bogenberger said in an email. “We ask customers to keep their dogs secure to ensure carriers can safely deliver the mail.”

If dogs are present, don’t open your door to accept mail and packages from carriers, he urged.

“If it’s necessary to open the door, make sure dogs are secured in a separate room,” Bogenberger said.