Barking man bites Louisiana mail carrier

Dallas Morning News ^ | 8/12/2005

[TrebleRebel]

A mail carrier wasn't worried when he heard barking. The man had already made sure the pooch in the yard he was about to deliver to was chained up.

It wasn't the barking dog that got him, it was a barking man, police said.

Mark D. Plumb, 20, of Butler, Mo., was arrested and charged with simple battery Wednesday after he ran barking from a house and bit the letter carrier on the shoulder, Houma Police spokesman Lt. Todd Duplantis said.

Plumb said he bit the carrier as a joke and has no history of criminal activity or mental illness, police said.

“I've never heard of something like this,” Terrebonne Parish Postmaster Bill Frye said. “I was shocked when I heard about it.”

The carrier was shaken up from the attack but had minimal physical injuries, Frye said. The carrier has been delivering in Houma for about two weeks, Frye said.

Mail carriers participate in frequent safety classes, Frye said, and are equipped with dog spray to protect themselves from animals.

“We don't expect that a human being is going to run up and bite one of our carriers,” said Frye.

Plumb is free from the Terrebonne Parish jail after posting $165 bond.

[llevrok]

ping

[martin_fierro]

Don't try the brown acid.

[Larry Lucido]

Good thing the mailman wasn't Crum Petree.

[Thinkin' Gal]

Plumb said he bit the carrier as a joke and has no history of criminal activity or mental illness, police said.

"Yeah, well, history's gonna change."

[Rca2000]

Send the boys with the net, and the paddy wagon, after this loon.

[ChefKeith]

Why does this remind me of Tim Allen talking about him and the dog running out to meet the UPS truck and while he sniffs the drivers butt and pees on the tire the dog signs for the package.

[Echo Talon]

LOL! I wish they had video of this! :D Reminds me of that video of "you've been kicked in the nutz!"

[rudyudy]

I knew a carrier who once got attacked by an ostrich. Scared the heck out of the mailman.

[ThirstyMan]

"...no history of criminal activity or mental illness..."

"Yeah, well, history's gonna change."

Ha ha! Sounds like it already has!

R-r-r-r-r-u-f-f!

[I Drive Too Fast]

Is this the result of inbreeding?

[Black Tooth]

Mark D. Plumb, 20, of Butler, Mo., was arrested Wednesday after he ran barking from a house and bit the letter carrier on the shoulder

A Plumb from Butler Mo. eh?

[codyjacksmom]

Sounds like the guy was just having a little fun...I think it's a riot.

[Dallas59]

What breed of dog was he?

[glock rocks]

or...

[King Prout]

just damn

[Jaysun]

after he ran barking from a house and bit the letter carrier on the shoulder

This clears up the first question that popped in my head. He obviously wasn't on all fours if he bit him on the shoulder. If he had been, the letter carrier could have kicked the sh*t out of him.

[Ken H]

He obviously wasn't on all fours if he bit him on the shoulder.

Sounds like he was up on his hind legs.

[Moorings]

he ran barking from a house and bit the letter carrier on the shoulder

Hopefully he's had his shots.

The letter carrier should have punched his nose in. Then we'll see how funny he thought the joke would be. I had a friend who was a letter carrier. It was a tough job, without having to deal with morons like this.

[Jaysun]

Sounds like he was up on his hind legs.

Right, which means that his genitalia was on prominent display. I'm sure there's nothing in the letter carrier's manual that addresses a situation like that.

[Fresh Wind]

DU must have been down.

[ladyrustic]

I doubt this prankster really bit down on this mailman (and if he did, then he of course should be arrested). But it sounds like the perp was simply attempting a humorous prank. Mail carriers take themselves way too seriously.

[the invisib1e hand]

man

bites

dog.

[libs_kma]

"DU must have been down."

DING DING DING! We have a winner!!

[BibChr]

Title of the Day nominee.

...and has no history of criminal activity or mental illness, police said

Make that, "and has no previous history of criminal activity or mental illness."

Dan

[Hatteras]

[dead]

Mark D. Plumb, 20, of Butler, Mo., was arrested and charged with simple battery

He's plumb crazy, Dan.

[Ditter]

If your dog is ignoring you, you can really get his attention if you bark at him. I never thought about barking at the mailman. I don't bite either, I just bark occasionally.

[BibChr]

Wah wah wah wahhhhhhhhhh.....

< rimshot >

[GnuHere]

Meth country.

[GnuHere]

Oh, sorry. I see this happened in LA.
Being from MO, I just assumed the guy was on meth since it's in the water supply here.

[reagan_fanatic]

I wonder if he cleaned himself afterwards like a good dog should.

[tubebender]

Has Beau been giving aggression training lessons in La again...

[monday]

"But it sounds like the perp was simply attempting a humorous prank."

While I agree that the mailman should just let it go, there are lots of crazy people out there. You never know what to expect.

Pranks are for people you know. Is is rather bad form to play pranks on strangers. Not only is it rude it can be dangerous. How do you know that the person you have chosen to prank isn't mentally ill, or that their mother hasn't just died? Maybe they are just having a really really bad day?

The point is, since you don't know them, you have no idea how they will react, and their reaction might be much worse than this mailman's reaction of calling the police. They might just pull out a gun and blow you away.

[monday]

"If your dog is ignoring you,..."

You poor guy. If your dog is ignoring you, you need a new dog. Buy a cat if you want a pet that will ignore you;o)

[Ditter]

LOL! First off, I am not a guy. Then secondly, my dogs are Jack Russell Terriers. They are very intense little critters when they are after something like a rabbit or a possum. If they are hot on the trail I can bark at them and they will think another dog has arrived that needs to be investigated. Gets 'em every time!I read that little tidbit written by a dog trainer.

[deport]

August 11. 2005 12:18PM

Man arrested for biting Houma mail carrier

By SETH FOX The Courier

HOUMA -- A 20-year-old Missouri man was arrested on battery charges Wednesday after allegedly biting a mailman.

Police said the mail carrier was at a house on Honduras Street when he heard a dog barking. The mailman saw that there was a dog chained in the yard so he was not concerned, Houma Police spokesman Lt. Todd Duplantis said.

A few seconds later the letter carrier heard barking again, Duplantis said, and a barking man ran from around the side of the house and bit the mailman on the shoulder before running inside the house.

Mark D. Plumb, 20, 404 N. Main St., Butler, Mo., was arrested on charges of simple battery. Police said Plumb indicated he bit the carrier as a joke and has no history of criminal activity or mental illness.

Plumb is free from the Terrebonne Parish jail after posting $165 bond.

"I’ve never heard of something like this," Terrebonne Parish Postmaster Bill Frye said. "I was shocked when I heard about it."

Frye said the carrier was shaken up from the attack but had minimal physical injuries. The carrier, he said, has been delivering in Houma for about two weeks.

Mail carriers participate in frequent safety classes, Frye said, and are equipped with dog spray to protect themselves from animals.

"We don’t expect that a human being is going to run up and bite one of our carriers," said Frye.

The postmaster said that there was nothing funny about Plumb’s joke.

"It’s serious," he said. "This carrier’s out there doing his best to get people their mail."

According to eMedicine.com, 10 to 15 percent of bite wounds become infected. Human saliva contains as many as 100 million organisms per milliliter, with as many as 190 different species.

Courier staff writer Seth Fox can be reached at 850-1148 or seth.fox@houmatoday.com.

[avg_freeper]

He looks like Ricky Schroder.

I'll have to send a link to my wife as she had a crush on him. The little punk.

[yankeedame]

A really useless piece of trivia:

In the France of Louis IVX, there was a great French General: Louis II de Conde or "The Great Conde"

He was one of the premiere military men in Europe...and 90% of the time he was screwy as an outhouse rat. He had a lot of, er, "baggage", shall we say? And one of them was that every now and then he would think he was a dog. Just like that -- out of the blue. Bark. Bark. Bark.

But occasionally he could feel an attack coming on; and more than once in the gilded halls of Versailles he was known to have suddenly rushed to the nearest window,stuff a glob of velvet curtain in his mouth and give out with a muffled Woof.Woof.Growl.Woof.Woof.Growl.Woof.Woof.Bark. While the others in the room -- including the king -- desperately tried to pay no attention to what was going on.

LOL! Which just goes to prove: When they say truth is stranger than fiction, they ain't kidding!

[yankeedame]

(blushing) I know...I know..it's Louis XIV. What can I say? My dyslexia must be acting up again! ;o)

[pax_et_bonum]

Ho Hum, Another Barking Man Attacks Postal Worker Ping.

[najida]

Oh boy,
Coming to a psyche unit near you.

[Types_with_Fist]

My hometown. (*sniff)

[Jeremiah Jr]

"Yeah, well, history's gonna change."

Egon, Ray's gone bye-bye, what've you got left?
Peter Venkman

[Rakkasan1]

a mail delivery moose once bit my sister

[codyjacksmom]

It was the mailman, not some stranger on the street. Doesn't sound like he hurt him with the bite...the mailman sounds like a wimp with no sense of humor.

[monday]

"It was the mailman, not some stranger on the street."

If he was friends with the mailman, then no big deal. If not, then it is the mailman's perception of the pranker that counts, not the perception of the pranker towards the mailman. To the mailman, this guy was just a random lunatic.

It probably scared him enough that he got angry. If you think thats funny, you probably also think it's funny when some stranger cuts you off in traffic, almost causing an accident.

You also have a sense of humor that depends on causing others discomfort in order to get a laugh. You are not alone in that. Many people find humor at others expense. The TV show 'Punked' is all about laughing at the discomfort of others. Usually, people grow up and realize that laughing at others misfortune isn't a civilized way to behave. Unfortunately, some never do.

[codyjacksmom]

Personally, I am the first one to laugh at myself when I do a boneheaded thing. Also, I'm so glad you told me what kind of humor I have...I had no idea!!!</Sarcasm>

I don't watch "Punked", but obviously you are familiar with it. I don't like it when I'm cut off in traffic, but I'm able to let it go...sounds like you may have a little problem with road rage. I love to laugh, and I have a great sense of humor...I also have a personality...sounds like you need to go check out the blue light specials and find one for yourself. And loosen up or your face is gonna stay scrunched up like that.

[monday]

Sounds like I hit a nerve. Sorry if you don't like what you see in the mirror.

[codyjacksmom]

Nope, no nerues hit here, but I did have a good laugh at your expense....how ironic! I also really like looking in the mirror, I don't have to see your bitter and spiteful face in there!