The GSD Community vs. the USPS

This is buzzing around the internet and on Facebook. From the German Shepherd Dog Community: "The United States Post Office is circulating a postcard across the country that uses a photo of a vicious looking German Shepherd showing teeth to promote their slogan that "Dog Attacks are a serious matter!" It irks me that they seem to be targeting GSDs in their advertisement to generate fear and grab people's attention. This is stereotypical. There are other ways to get your point across that don't target a specific breed. Not to mention that the dog in this photo is a police K-9 who was in TRAINING when they took the pic!"

There is a petition on Change.org directed to the Postmaster General. It states that the picture on the postcard is:

1. Stereotyping German shepherds as vicious
2. Misleading
3. Spreading fear of a breed and
4. Targeting a specific breed.

NOT all German shepherds are vicious or attack mailmen. This picture needs to be removed.

 

Please take a moment to sign the petition and let the Postmaster General know your displeasure.

As I've mentioned before, I am an animal control officer. I have worked five cases where mailman were bitten by dogs. The dogs involved were: one Springer spaniel, one dachshund, one Labrador retriever and two mixed breeds. According to my statistics, the choice of a German shepherd is inaccurate. I am very disappointed that my tax dollars are being used for this.

If you'd like to contact the Postmaster General in writing, please address your comments to:

Patrick R. Donahoe
United States Postal Service, Postmaster General
475 L'Enfant Plaza SW
Washington DC 20260-0010

(BTW, it's now 33¢ to send a postcard and 46¢ for a letter. Can you believe it?)

Perhaps we should ask the Postmaster General if this is how he wants his employees portrayed. (Hey, it's called "going postal" for a reason!)

 

I bet you he would say "No" because it's:

1. Stereotyping U.S. Postal Workers as homicidal
2. Misleading
3. Spreading fear of a profession and
4. Targeting a specific profession.

Hmmmm, sound familiar? -- K