I noticed the two recent Opinion page pieces about dogs: the column on Aug. 11, "Dogs are innocent; dog owners aren't always," and the letter to the editor the next day, "I ain't afraid of no Pomeranians."

Both had some valid points.

In 34 years of delivering mail, I came across many dogs and their owners. I was bitten by three dogs and attacked many other times. Thanks to my dog spray and satchel, I kept the bite count low. All three of the dogs that got me were smaller-sized.

In fact, the first dog that bit me was a miniature poodle. I had a package for a resident in Lakeside, and as soon as she opened the door, her dog leaped at me, and I had four holes in my pants and leg from its little teeth. When I pointed out the blood coming through my pants, the owner told me it must have happened somewhere else and closed the door. Really! I think she got the message when the post office sent her the bill for my trip to the emergency room.

I don't hate dogs, and I went out of my way to make friends with the ones on my route. I didn't believe in giving them dog biscuits like some carriers do, since when a dog is running at me I then wouldn't know if it was coming for me or for a biscuit.

Like the column writer, I, too, notice that dogs usually don't bite their owners or family members. But I have seen some of those same animals nearly choke themselves to death on their chain or bust through a window to get at me.

Postal customers have to realize the average carrier stops at 300-plus residences a day, many of them with dogs. Postal supervisors tell carriers to be careful and to not put themselves into compromising situations. Walking into a residence with dogs running around is not safe for all involved.

Maybe the writer of the Aug. 12 letter might realize that the carrier he described could have been bitten before and didn't want a repeat of the painful situation - or didn't want a boss yelling at him for being stupid enough to get bit.

An old carrier once told a patron who claimed his dog didn't bite: "I'll believe that when the dog tells me that."

Arden W. Stabs of Duluth is a retired letter carrier.