Butch forces post office to reroute mail

So far, he's all bark and no bite. But mail carriers aren't taking any chances. They've stopped delivering mail to around 24 homes on Navarre Road because of Butch, a shepherd/chow mix.

Casper Postmaster Susan Gray said Butch has chased carriers eight times since 2002, with the latest incident occurring Jan. 8.

"This dog is very aggressive," Gray said. "Five different carriers have said the dog will come down the road to come get them."

Residents of the street must now go to a nearby community mailbox or to a post office box to get their mail.

Owner Jolene Whittle said Butch has always had a problem with mail carriers.

"He got out last Monday and was supposedly chasing the mailman. According to the mailman, Butch tried to attack him," she said.

But Whittle said Butch has never attacked anyone, including her daughters, 2 and 4.

"I have two little girls," she said. "I wouldn't have a mean dog in my house."

Gray said the post office stopped mail to the Whittles last summer. After the Jan. 8 incident, though, delivery was stopped to about 24 other homes on the street.

Gray said the dog had not bitten any of the carriers. But dog bites are common enough in Casper that she didn't want to take any chances.

"Dogs in this town are a major problem," she said.

She said two carriers had to go to the hospital recently to get stitches from dog bites.

"Nobody should have to put up with that in their job," she said.

Rick Sulzen, director of Metro Animal Control and Welfare, said his agency had no records of Butch biting anyone, although it did have four reports on the dog since 2002.

"Dogs in any town can be dangerous," Sulzen said. "Any dog has the potential to bite, depending on the circumstances."

Sulzen said Metro was trying to work with the post office and had offered to have an officer escort the postal carrier on the route.