Looking back, postie Douglas Fry describes it as a "Keystone Cops" moment.
But it was no laughing matter when a german shepherd attacked the postie in Brisbane.
Mr Fry quickly realised he had nowhere to go when he saw the imposing dog race across the street towards him.
The dog's owner was outside gardening but didn't respond to Mr Fry's pleas, forcing the postie to hatch an escape plan.
"It is a bit of a Keystone Cops moment of me trying to circle around my vehicle, trying to outpace, outsmart this pretty agile predator," Mr Fry told AAP.
"Unfortunately I was parked facing a dead end street so I didn't have any scope to get on my vehicle and accelerate away.
"My best bet was trying to evade it on foot. It didn't work out."
Mr Fry was mauled on the leg and required medical treatment, becoming yet another Australian postie attacked on the job.
In the past six months alone, 1,277 dog-related incidents have occurred across the nation, prompting an Australia Post plea.
It has called on local councils to adopt stricter measures, with its latest data revealing almost 50 posties a week are involved in dog-related incidents in Australia - an average of 10 a day.
Queensland is the worst for dog attacks on posties, recording 505 in the past six months.
Mr Fry is not surprised after enduring three in his career, including this year's incident in Brisbane.
"It is very much a frequent recurring issue for us and a very concerning one," he said on Monday.
"Literally one hour ago we had a Brisbane postie report a dog bite."
Dog attack laws and penalties differ across states and territories, with South Australia one of the latest to adopt harsher penalties for owners including fines of up to $100,000 and four years in jail.
Australia Post teamed up with the SA government in September to deliver safety information to all registered dog owners after a spate of attacks.
The postal service said it would continue to work with states and territories to advocate for animal management law changes while actively engaging with local councils to enforce restrictions.
Mr Fry said safety was a high priority at Australia Post, ensuring posties were aware of any potential hazards.
Every postie is equipped with a hazard device to log aggressive dog behaviour, with councils alerted about serious cases.
There are currently almost 30,000 active dog-related hazards nationally.
"But there's only so much we can do," said Mr Fry.
Now an Australia Post team leader, Mr Fry said the onus was on the owner to secure their dog, especially with the popular Black Friday sales and Christmas approaching.
"What was particularly frustrating with what happened to me was the owner was actually present," he said.
"I called out for them to call the dog off and they simply didn't care."
