US Postal Service worker mauled to death by dogs in Florida, officials say

A U.S. Postal Service worker was mauled to death by a pack of dogs in northern Florida earlier this week, authorities said.

As per Col. Joseph Wells, the primary assistant of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, individuals residing in the vicinity, including the proprietor of the dogs and various neighbors, heard the pleas of the woman and swiftly came to her aid. The mail carrier, identified as Pamela Jane Rock, a 61-year-old from Melrose, Florida, was in the Interlachen Lake Estates region of Putnam County on Sunday afternoon when her vehicle for delivering mail malfunctioned and she was assaulted by a minimum of five canines.

During a media briefing on Tuesday, Wells stated, “One of the residents even brought his weapon along and discharged multiple rounds into the atmosphere and towards the surface in an effort to impede the assault. It was the nearby residents and the proprietor who successfully physically extracted the canines from the injured individual, but unfortunately, their efforts were in vain.”

As per Wells, she passed away on Monday night, after which she was transferred to UF Health Shands Trauma Center in Gainesville. Paramedics managed to resuscitate her, but Rock experienced cardiac arrest while being transported to the nearby Putnam Community Medical Center in Palatka. The deputies provided initial medical assistance to the victim and used three tourniquets to control her bleeding until an ambulance arrived. While the deputies arrived at the scene, Rock was still on the street, bleeding profusely, while the owner had already taken the dogs back to their property.

“We are actively investigating this case and considering potential criminal charges,” Wells informed the press. “We maintain regular communication with the state attorney’s office as we explore various avenues. The investigation is currently very active.”

He stated, without providing details on the potential charges, that since we are examining potential criminal charges, it now becomes the responsibility of the state attorney’s office homicide investigative unit due to the fact that it involves a death investigation.

The initial investigation revealed that the dogs had escaped from a yard fenced with rocks lining the bottom of the fence, according to Wells.

Wells stated that the canines would be euthanized at a future time. The five grown-up canines, referred to as mixed-breed, that witnesses recognized as participating in the assault were apprehended by Putnam County Animal Control, who also arrived at the location.

The owner of the dogs was not disclosed by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.

As per Wells, the Sheriff’s Office in Putnam County has attended to animal-related incidents on four occasions within the last three years in the vicinity.

He informed journalists, “Currently, we are conducting the inquiry to authenticate their connection with this specific location.” “While we have not verified that these are the exact same dogs, initial signs suggest that at least two of the previous incidents were linked to this address.”

The spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service, in a statement to ABC News on Wednesday, expressed deep sadness regarding the loss of our employee.

The representative expressed, “Currently, we are sending our condolences and sympathies to the family and colleagues of the deceased.” A postal worker’s relative lost their life in an incident involving a dog bite.

According to data released by the U.S. Postal Service in June, Florida, one of the leading 10 states for dog attacks, reported 201 incidents last year. In the year 2021, over 5,400 postal workers in the United States experienced dog assaults.

In order to avoid attacks against our employees, it is the responsibility of dog owners to restrain their pets while they perform their duties. Unfortunately, the Postal Service provides this opportunity to remind owners that it is their responsibility to warn them about these attacks. If a loose dog approaches the area where they deliver, an alert will pop up and their delivery scanner can be programmed with the address. Our carriers are trained to carry pepper spray and can use a soft shield as their first line of defense, which can be wielded like a satchel mail. This was added by the spokesperson.