Springfield neighborhood without mail service following dog incident

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – People in a Springfield neighborhood say they are fed up after the Postal Service suspended mail delivery to their area.

Neighbors who live just west of the Parkcrest Center off of south Campbell say they haven’t been getting mail consistently since last year which means no bills or medication.

They say the problem is loose dogs.

Steve Letterman said, “We’ve lived here for 30-some-odd years and we’ve never had this issue before.”

“They just shut or mail off without even telling us. We don’t know whether we’re getting it from one day to the next,” said Richard Landsdown.

They say they haven’t received regular mail service in their south Springfield neighborhood in several months.

“Supposedly, the mail guy that refuses to deliver, he got bit up in the next block is the reason he’s leery of dogs,” said Letterman.

He says that concern has caused the U.S. Postal Service to stop delivering mail.

Letterman said, “The police have been out here. The city has been out here. Animal control’s been out here. Nobody seems to want to take any responsibility.”

“For one household to not have the responsibility to take care of their pets, it’s just not right for the other part of the neighborhood, the other block that’s lost their mail,” said Landsdown.

“Our pets are friendly and they love us but they’re trying to protect the home and family. They’re doing what comes naturally,” said Mark Inglett with the United States Postal Service.

We asked the postal service to look into the problem.

“In this circumstance, unfortunately, the customers are having to come to the post office, they’re being inconvenienced, to pick up their mail because the dog is still loose in that area. They’re not able to retrieve that dog,” said Inglett.

He says the agency is looking at possible long-term solutions.

“These houses have mailboxes on the homes. But now we may go to a curbside type of delivery or a cluster box depending on the area and the location of the dog,” he said.

Letterman says he’ll do whatever it takes to get mail service again.

“I would be willing to stand out here to make sure that no dog attacks him. I don’t know what the answer is,” he said.

The postal service says there’s no time in which a decision on a solution could be made.

For now, they’re asking everyone to make sure their pets are safely secured.

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