The United States Postal Service has been forced to apologize after one of its mail carriers was caught on surveillance camera pepper-spraying a friendly dog.

The footage, recorded on Monday, shows a female USPS employee delivering letters to a home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts before the incident occurred.

The mail carrier appears to be in the process of putting the parcels into the mailbox when the homeowner's beloved pup, Coco, wanders up to the fence to greet her.

The mail carrier appears to be in the process of putting the parcels into the mailbox when the homeowner's beloved pup, Coco, wanders up to the fence to greet the visitor

The video shows the canine wagging his tail and appearing very friendly, but the USPS worker seems to sense an imminent threat.

In the video, she is seen rifling through her bag, before she pulls out a can of pepper spray and gives it a good shake.

The woman then crouches down to face Coco, before she stuns the dog by spraying him right in his eyes.

The woman can be seen crouching down to face Coco, before she stuns him by spraying him right in his eyes

Clearly in pain, the pup quickly runs away, while the mail carrier lingers with her arms over the fence.

Following publication of the video, the USPS issued a personal apology to Coco's owner.

'On behalf of the United States Postal Service, we want to apologize to our customer. We do not condone our employees behaving in a manner which is not professional and courteous,' they wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

'The appropriate personnel and corrective action will be taken with regard to this incident as well as training given to all local carriers on how and when to use dog repellent.'

Coco's owner said the poor pup was in pain after he was sprayed and had to be taken to the vet

However, the outraged owner says Coco has been in pain since he was sprayed in the eyes.

He told Fox 11 that seeing the footage angered him and he wonders whether the mail carrier was having a bad day.

The owner further claims that Coco had to be taken to the vet for treatment.

USPS has not publicly disclosed the identity of the employee, or revealed whether she will be reprimanded for her actions.