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Confused dog owners are up in arms after the Royal Mail sent out ‘threatening’ letters which appear to single out their innocent pets as a danger to their local postman.
The letter, with the address and contact number blacked out.
The letter, which was sent to every known dog owner in Muswell Hill, has angered and worried residents who understood the missive as a personal attack on their dogs.
The opening paragraph of the letter – which has the address of the homeowner on the top left corner – reads: “While we’ve been delivering your post, we’ve become aware of a dog which is giving us some concerns, so I wanted to take this opportunity to contact you about how we can work together, before any formal action needs to be taken.”
Dawn Miles, of Dukes Avenue, opened her letter just after she got the ashes of her Hungarian Vizsla Monty back from the vet.
“I was very distressed,” she said. “Obviously, they were not to know my dog had just died. After I got upset, I got angry. I did not understand why my dog was seen to be an issue. He was 15. He could barely get off the sofa, let alone cause anybody any trouble.
“I think what concerned me most after I had received it was that it was really threatening in its tone. The whole exercise was incredibly ill-advised and inappropriate.”
Fellow Dukes Avenue resident Margot Wilkes also received the letter – despite the fact that her border terrier Beano is too small to reach the letterbox and helps to cure nervous children of their fear of dogs. “She is exceptionally sweet-natured,” Mrs Wilkes explained. “But when I got the letter it seemed to be targeting my dog.”
Midwife Jude Bayly, of Sydney Road, who owns Tilly, a cross between a labrador and a collie, echoed her worry. “This has caused our family quite a lot of concern.”
But Royal Mail spokesman Sally Hopkins said the letter was simply sent out as part of Dog Awareness Week in an attempt to reduce the number of attacks on its staff.
She added: “If we feel that there is a risk from a dog, or any other animal, we are committed to working with the customer to agree simple steps to ensure that we can deliver the mail safely.
“There were 96 dog attacks on postmen and women in London between April 2012 and April 2013, including 14 in the north London area. The aim of the letter that Mrs Miles has received, as well as some other people in the Muswell Hill area, was an attempt to reduce the risk of any more attacks.”
Looks like the one on the left has already got her male-( a re-directed male?)-oops, mail! The card says