BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) – The postmaster is wondering why Bristol apparently leads the state in the number of mail carriers being bitten by dogs.

Postmaster Mike Parent said seven mail carriers have been nipped by canines in the past fiscal year, going back to last October. It has prompted him to warn his carriers.

“If they see a dog, I tell ’em not to deliver,” Parent said, even if the dog seems friendly and is wagging its tail.

Parent said the city of Stamford has had one incident of a mail carrier being bitten by a dog. He said the seven biting incident in Bristol are more than twice as many as the cities of Bridgeport or Waterbury or Willimantic, which each had three incidents.

Parent, who requested statistics on dog bites from the postal service’s district safety office, said none of the bites resulted in serious injury, though some mail carriers required stitches and one had damage to a ligament.

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Information from: The Bristol Press, http://www.ctcentral.com/jrc-html/papers/localnews-p4.html

AP-ES-08-28-06 1424EDT