EDMONTON - Recent dog attacks on letter carriers -- one sending a man to hospital -- have Canada Post pleading for homeowner responsibility.

"I'll definitely always be a bit paranoid in the back of my mind of loose dogs," said letter carrier David Wilson, who was attacked by a dog on Aug. 28.

The animal left an eight-centimetre gash on his leg, exposing a bone.

"I just have to hope dog owners will be a little bit more responsible about how they keep their dog."

He's one of the 17 carriers nipped or bitten by aggressive dogs this year, and one of three in the last two weeks.

But Wilson's was the most rare -- one that required a trip to the hospital.

Wilson filled in on the mail route that day in Sherwood Park, and where dogs lived.

"I walked down the steps and started to head toward the next house on their sidewalk," said Wilson.

"When I reached corner of house, I looked to my left and saw the border collie. I knew I was going to get bit and I had no time to react."

He blacked out after the bite, awoke and scurried to the neighbour's house.

"I didn't think it was that bad, but then I looked down and saw my bone and I knew I had to call 911."

The homeowner came out and, once she saw the cut, offered to drive Wilson to the hospital, he said.

Concerned about nerve or artery damage, he was taken by ambulance to the Grey Nuns hospital.

Wilson required eight stitches to shut the wound.

He said he hasn't decided whether to take legal action against the dog's owner.

Canada Post recommends tying dogs up or otherwise securing them in a backyard, said Teresa Williams, spokesman for Canada Post.

"We had three cases of dogs last year that broke through plate glass windows to get to a carrier," she said.

"A lot of people don't recognize that their front yard is someone's work environment. Sit back and look at your home and ask yourself, would you tolerate that in your work environment on a daily basis?"

Dogs aren't the only threats to carriers with big, heavy bags of mail.

Wasps have presented a notable problem this year, said Williams.

Carriers can fall over heaving sidewalks, broken stairs or missing railings, she said, because many sort mail as they walk.

Homeowners who don't address unsafe conditions can see their mail service stopped until problems are solved, said Williams.

RICHARD.LIEBRECHT@SUNMEDIA.CA