Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Illinois

My daughter and her friends were playing in the front yard and they left the gate open. My chocolate lab got out and the mailman was two doors down. I was in the house and did not see what happened, but three children did see the entire thing. The dog ran next door and stopped to urinate, the mailman ran to her and kicked her while she was still going potty, and he then proceeded to kick her again. He was yelling at the children for letting her out of the yard. I came out and the mailman was two doors down and the dog was across the street, limping. After I got the dog in the house my neighbor and I went to find the mailman to find out what happened and he said �you are lucky that I did not take care of your dog�, I said what do you mean by that?, he said �you�ll find out.� I called the police to report the abuse and the threat. I also call the postmaster and she said we did not have any witnesses and ignored the complaint.

About a month later the dog got out again when the mailman was on our block. The dog is not aggressive, but she barks a lot. The mailman tried to use pepper spray on her but she was not close enough. My neighbor was there and got the dog in the house, but the mailman called the police.

My dog is 6 years old and we have never had a problem before. Should I press charges of animal abuse? Can children (ages 11, 10, &9) be witnesses? Can the mailman be charged for terrorizing my daughter she is afraid he is going to break into our house and kill the dog. All the children are afraid of the mailman.

Is there anything I can do to get him off my route?


Asked on 9/01/10, 11:48 am

3 Answers from Attorneys
Thomas Moens Moens Law Offices, Chartered

Contact the state's attorney in your county. Contact the postmaster again, tell him or her that you have a witness this time, and if he is unable to control his employees that you will be elevating your complaint.

�The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated�. Mahatma Gandhi

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Answered on 9/07/10, 6:21 am

You might also try something else. Since the situations only seem to arise when your dog gets out, take some additional precautions to make sure that the dog stays in your yard. You never know if the next mail carrier will be any worse.

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Answered on 9/10/10, 5:51 am
Mark Hartzer

What the letter carrier did was probably a violation of USPS rules and conduct. Find out the formal complaint procedure with the Post Office. You also need to keep better control of your dog. She could be hit by a car or otherwise get into trouble. You are on notice that the dog has previously escaped and should take steps to make sure that does not happen again.

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Answered on 9/14/10, 6:20 pm


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