St. Louis: A Dog-Eat-Mailman World and City Health Director Wearing MilkBone Underwear

​Remember one those classic intros to Cheers when Norm walks into the bar and Woody asks him how he's doing? Norm responds: "It's a dog-eat-dog world, Woody, and I'm wearing MilkBone underwear."

I recalled that scene this morning when reading the latest dust up regarding St. Louis' problem with stray (or loose) dogs.

KMOX reports that Richard Thurman, the postal safety coordinator for St. Louis, is concerned about the number of his mail carriers attacked by canines. According to Thurman, dogs have attacked 39 postal carriers in St. Louis in each of the last two years, and the situation is only growing worse. As it stands now, St. Louis is among the five worst cities in the U.S. for dog attacks on letter carriers.

Thurman's revelation comes as Lewis Reed, president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, and several other aldermen -- particularly those in north St. Louis -- continue to battle the mayor's office over what to do with animals running wild. They believe Mayor Francis Slay is ignoring the problem of stray dogs in the city. They also believe (and perhaps rightly so) that Slay goofed when he closed the city's dog shelter last year without a firm plan on how to deal with stray dogs.

So, then, did KMOX's story about letter carriers come to it courtesy of the Board of Aldermen? I have strong reason to believe so. Does that make it any less of a story? No, but I seriously doubt Thurman would be sounding the alarm if not goaded into it by politicians involved in this pissing match.

Meanwhile, St. Louis City Health Department Director Pamela Walker (a Slay appointee), whose job it is to manage stray animals in the city, began firing back at KMOX this morning via Twitter before the station even aired its story about letter carriers.

​Last week Walker went before the cameras to say that the city doesn't have a stray dog problem. It has a loose dog problem with residents allowing their dogs to run free. Could it be that this week Walker now feels like she's the one on the hot seat -- the person wearing MilkBone underwear?

It certainly seems that way. Frankly, I just find it curious that Walker has so much time to tweet, yet has not found the time to return any of the three phone calls I've made to her office since August to discuss the city's stray dog issue. Doggone it.

Related content:

Animal Neglect Rampant in North St. Louis, Says Stray Rescue

Francis Slay Asserts Alpha Dog Status at City Hall; Lewis Reed Refuses to Play Bitch