Postal Training Continued

When I arrived at the P&DC today for my second day of training, I can't say I was terribly excited. We were going to cover safety. Safety is important but it can be a very boring subject. Surprisingly, the training today wasn't. One thing I learned about was the danger of dogs. I've always liked dogs and rarely had any problems with them. That could change with my new job as a postman. Dogs are a major problem for mailmen/women. The lady that lectured us on safety was a mail carrier for 18 years and was bit twice by dogs that ambushed her. She told us that the Post Office does arm us with pepper spray but the best defense against a dog was watching out for them before you got attacked. She also said that we should make owner's restrain their dog before giving the owners their mail. The dog may sit quietly by the owner initially but could easily jump up and bite the carrier when the carrier tries to hand the owner their mail. Dogs could mistake what the carrier was trying to do for an attack. Another thing that the service does is have its carriers put a card in their tray which tells where a dog is located on the route. This reminds the regular carrier where a dog is located. It also gives a substitute carrier a warning which can be really handy since he's not familiar with the route.

Dogs however turned out not to be the biggest problem right now. The biggest problems carriers have to deal with is the heat. It is summer time in Maryland and it's HOT and HUMID. Mail carriers have to deliver all their mail in the outdoors so they get the full effects. To make matters worse, the delivery trucks are not air conditioned and tend to get quite warm. The safety lady reminded the new mail carriers to make sure they drank plenty of fluids so they didn't get dehydrated. They might also want to wear lighter clothing. As a Rural Carrier Associate I found out I'll be able to wear shorts and short-sleeve t-shirts. I may not look very postal but I'll be considerably cooler. The only potential problem is this will leave more areas vulnerable as far as dogs are concerned. I'll just have to see how it goes.

That's all for my second day of training. Tomorrow, I get to do a half day. I have no idea what I'll get to learn. Sadly, our group will break up after tomorrow. Those that have to do vehicle training will go to the vehicle training center in Hyattsville Thursday. Those that don't such as clerks will either start at their new jobs, or receive additional training in their specialty. I'll be sorry to see the group break up. It's been neat getting to meet some of them. I hope the people I get to work with at the Laurel Post Office will be equally nice. We'll see.