LEWISTON – Buster is a boisterous dog who doesn’t like strangers, but he’s not mean, insists Frank Chiaravelotti.

That’s why Chiaravelotti was surprised to learn that the 4-year-old pit bull mix’s rambunctiousness has resulted in the U.S. Postal Service freezing mail delivery to his 15 neighbors on Arkwright Avenue.

“It’s really embarrassing,” Chiaravelotti said. “I knew they stopped delivering to my house, but I didn’t know they stopped my neighbors, too. That’s embarrassing.”

The decision stems from an incident Monday between the neighborhood’s letter carrier and Buster, who belongs to Chiaravelotti’s son, Jon, of 14 Arkwright Ave.

Frank, who lives at the other end of Arkwright, often takes care of the dog while his son is out of town. He said he was minding the dog after a walk Monday morning, putting him on a chain in his back yard. The dog spied the letter carrier, however, and pulled away from Chiaravelotti.

Postal service spokesman Tom Rizzo said the dog bit the carrier.

“This was the first attack on that street involving the mailman, but this dog has acted in an aggressive and threatening manner in prior years,” he said.

Chiaravelotti said it’s a misunderstanding. He said the dog never bit the letter carrier and was carrying an orange squeaky toy in his mouth the entire time.

“He couldn’t bite anyone if he had that toy in his mouth,” he said. “He’s not a vicious dog anyway. I can’t imagine him ever biting anyone. But he was excited, bumping up against the guy with the toy in his mouth.”

Home delivery to the street has been suspended for two weeks, until the postal service can install roadside mail boxes – the kind common for rural homes – to allow the letter carrier to deliver the mail without getting out of his car. The postal service is paying for the new mailboxes, Rizzo said.

“It’s not an uncommon situation to have the mail delivery suspended until the situation can be made safe for the carrier,” he said.

Residents can pick up their mail at the Ash Street post office in the meantime.

Joyce Palman, who lives on Arkwright Avenue, said it’s unfair to the neighborhood’s elderly residents.

“We’re all senior citizens here, and now we have to go downtown and get our mail,” said Palman, 75. “And it gets worse this winter, when we have to walk out to the sidewalk just to get our mail. I’m on oxygen. I’m not going to be able to do that.”

Anne Moreau of Greene said it’s a problem for her parents, the St. Denises.

“Most of the people on the street are elders or handicapped,” she said. “I can get it for my parents. But the people that don’t have anyone, they won’t get their mail for a while.”

Chiaravelotti agreed that it’s unfair to involve his neighbors.

“A man from the post office came around Monday and said they wouldn’t be delivering mail because of this, but I thought it was just to my house,” Chiaravelotti said. “I can’t believe how big a deal they are making about this.”

Rizzo said it’s ironic timing. The postal service is marking National Bite Prevention Week, reminding pet owners to keep their animals under control. According to the postal service, 3,149 carriers were bitten by dogs nationally in 2007. In Lewiston, four carriers were bitten last year. In one case, the dog burst through a screen door to attack the carrier.

“We’re not talking about a little prick on the finger,” Rizzo said. “Bites like these hurt, and we’re not talking about a little scratch. And it carries stress and suffering for the carrier. In this case, the carrier was pretty shaken up.”