Inconsistent at best. Non-existent at worst. That's what a growing number of homeowners in Ballard are saying about their mail delivery service.
It was last month when KING 5 spoke to a group of neighbors on 8th Avenue Northwest who didn't receive mail for nearly three years, after a family pet frightened a mail carrier in 2013. The dog passed away in 2014. Yet mail service wasn't restored until KING 5 reached out to the USPS for answers in early May.
In response to that incident,the USPS apologized for the inconvenience, and restored service to the impacted customers on 8th Avenue Northwest that same day. Homeowners say the mail has been arriving every day as it's supposed to, ever since.
But in the weeks that followed, several people in nearby areas reached out to KING 5, to say that they're experiencing similar mail delivery dilemmas.
"Five years ago. It was about five years ago," said Mark Middlebrooks. "It's been a long time. We haven't had mail in a long time."
Middlebrooks is one of several homeowners on Seventh Avenue Northwest that say their mail delivery service has been cut off.
In Middlebrooks' case, he says he got a letter from the USPS five years ago, when his dog was outside and not on a leash. He admits he made a mistake back then, but said it hasn't happened again since. He even he built a fence around his yard in an attempt to make amends.
"There's no way my dog is getting anywhere near the mail carrier," he said.
Middlebrooks recently conducted an experiment in which he had a family member in Renton mail him eight letters in a row - one letter a day. Only two of the eight letters that were mailed actually arrived in his mailbox. Three others were returned to sender. He has no idea what might've happened to the other three.
"Two of eight," he said. "It's an awful ratio. I'm just trying to get to the bottom of it."
A few doors down, neighbor Randy Ehrlich says he's been without mail for about ten months. He says he got a letter from the USPS after a mail carrier was apparently frightened by a german shepherd he had at the time.
"That dog was adopted out though," said Ehrlich. "So the dog has been gone for nine months now. And I've had other dogs since, but the mail carrier has never encountered them in any sort of form."
Ehrlich says he'll typically only receive mail at his house if a new mail carrier is filling in on the route.
"It seems to be dependent on the mail carrier, whether they want to deliver or not," he said. "It's amazingly frustrating. I'm losing bills, I'm losing ballots. I hope to vote in the presidential election and if I don't get my ballot in the mail this could be a big problem."
Once again, KING 5 reached out to the USPS for answers. This time, the response did not come as quickly. Neither did the restoration of mail service.
Ehrlich and Middlebrooks are still waiting for their mail.
"It shouldn't be a crime to own a dog," said Ehrlich. "I mean if a dog is secured within a home, if a mail carrier is afraid of that, then they shouldn't be a mail carrier. I mean, I could understand if a dog is loose and if there was an attack, but there's nothing nearly like that going on."
A USPS spokesperson said they've spoken to the mail carrier that's usually on that route, in response to recent complaints. Citing personnel issues, he said he couldn't say whether the mail carrier had faced any sort of disciplinary action. He said the Ballard post office is also looking further into the issue, to see why some of these delivery suspensions are lasting so long.
More than 6,000 mail carriers across the country were bitten or attacked by dogs in 2015. For that reason, the USPS says delivery suspensions, or dog holds, are sometimes needed.
But a spokesperson said it's rare for dog holds to last for several years.
"I would love to find some kind of diplomatic resolution to this, where I can feel the post office will deliver my mail, and they can feel their carriers are safe," said Middlebrooks.
