He joined Welsh Assembly Member Julie Morgan AM and other campaigners at the Senedd this week in calling for responsible dog ownership.
Rynard commented: “It’s great that I am able to support and promote the importance of responsible dog ownership. I cannot believe that there are so many attacks on postmen and women on a daily basis.
“I have spent time training Lexi to make sure that she in comfortable with her surroundings at all times as well as being able to control her if it is appropriate. Its important that dogs can accept strangers, especially our postman so that they are comfortable with each other.
“This is a great awareness campaign by the Royal Mail and hopefully by being involved I can help the public understand the importance of training their dogs and controlling them appropriately without any attacks.”
Julie Morgan AM, who campaigned for a tightening up of the law, added:
“I am pleased to offer my support for Royal Mail’s Dog Awareness Week in Wales and promote the importance of responsible dog ownership. There were 50 attacks on postmen and women in the CF postcode area last year – that is far too many. The legislation provides more deterrents but we must work together to encourage people to control their dogs and allow workers like postmen and women to carry out their job in the community safely.
The campaign also highlights the need for responsible dog ownership as well as appealing to dog owners to keep animals under control when the postman calls to over 29 million addresses across the UK.
The number of attacks rises by over a quarter during the school holidays and in the summer months when parents and children are at home and dogs can sometimes be unsupervised in the garden or out onto the street without restraints.
On average eight postmen and women a day are attacked by dogs across the UK with over 2,960 attacks taking place from April 2014 to April 2015. Royal Mail and the Communications Workers Union are committed to driving this down further. Every dog attack on one of our postmen or women is one dog attack too many.
Royal Mail welcomed the changes to the Dangerous Dog Act in England and Wales that came into force in May 2014. Legislation now ensures our postmen and women have legal protection over attacks by dogs when they enter private property, including a customer’s garden. At this time the sentences for dog control offences were also significantly increased.
Royal Mail’s annual Dog Awareness Week is supported by the Communication Workers Union and animal charities, including Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, the National Dog Wardens Association, Dogs Trust, PDSA, Blue Cross, and National Police Chief’s Council.
Shaun Davis, Royal Mail Group Director of Safety, Health, Wellbeing & Sustainability said:
“Royal Mail’s Dog Awareness Week continues to go from strength to strength raising awareness of dog attacks and the problems our postmen and women face when they are delivering customers’ mail.
“Whilst there has been a reduction in the number of attacks from last year, eight postmen and women are still attacked every day. We are completely committed to driving this figure down further.
“We know that most dogs are not inherently dangerous, however, even the most placid animal can be prone to attack if it feels its territory is being threatened. Our first priority as an employer is to ensure the welfare and safety of our people who provide a valuable service to our customers. We appeal to owners to keep their pets under control.”
• A dedicated advice page is available on the Royal Mail website for dog owners at www.royalmail.com/dogawareness
Rynard commented: “It’s great that I am able to support and promote the importance of responsible dog ownership. I cannot believe that there are so many attacks on postmen and women on a daily basis.
“I have spent time training Lexi to make sure that she in comfortable with her surroundings at all times as well as being able to control her if it is appropriate. Its important that dogs can accept strangers, especially our postman so that they are comfortable with each other.
“This is a great awareness campaign by the Royal Mail and hopefully by being involved I can help the public understand the importance of training their dogs and controlling them appropriately without any attacks.”
Julie Morgan AM, who campaigned for a tightening up of the law, added:
“I am pleased to offer my support for Royal Mail’s Dog Awareness Week in Wales and promote the importance of responsible dog ownership. There were 50 attacks on postmen and women in the CF postcode area last year – that is far too many. The legislation provides more deterrents but we must work together to encourage people to control their dogs and allow workers like postmen and women to carry out their job in the community safely.
The campaign also highlights the need for responsible dog ownership as well as appealing to dog owners to keep animals under control when the postman calls to over 29 million addresses across the UK.
The number of attacks rises by over a quarter during the school holidays and in the summer months when parents and children are at home and dogs can sometimes be unsupervised in the garden or out onto the street without restraints.
On average eight postmen and women a day are attacked by dogs across the UK with over 2,960 attacks taking place from April 2014 to April 2015. Royal Mail and the Communications Workers Union are committed to driving this down further. Every dog attack on one of our postmen or women is one dog attack too many.
Royal Mail welcomed the changes to the Dangerous Dog Act in England and Wales that came into force in May 2014. Legislation now ensures our postmen and women have legal protection over attacks by dogs when they enter private property, including a customer’s garden. At this time the sentences for dog control offences were also significantly increased.
Royal Mail’s annual Dog Awareness Week is supported by the Communication Workers Union and animal charities, including Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, the National Dog Wardens Association, Dogs Trust, PDSA, Blue Cross, and National Police Chief’s Council.
Shaun Davis, Royal Mail Group Director of Safety, Health, Wellbeing & Sustainability said:
“Royal Mail’s Dog Awareness Week continues to go from strength to strength raising awareness of dog attacks and the problems our postmen and women face when they are delivering customers’ mail.
“Whilst there has been a reduction in the number of attacks from last year, eight postmen and women are still attacked every day. We are completely committed to driving this figure down further.
“We know that most dogs are not inherently dangerous, however, even the most placid animal can be prone to attack if it feels its territory is being threatened. Our first priority as an employer is to ensure the welfare and safety of our people who provide a valuable service to our customers. We appeal to owners to keep their pets under control.”
• A dedicated advice page is available on the Royal Mail website for dog owners at www.royalmail.com/dogawareness
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