When it’s raining cats and dogs outside, it’s usually considered a good thing in New Mexico.
When it’s raining rats and bats indoors, it’s not such a good thing – particularly at local post offices where troublesome varmints are normally limited to “wanted” posters.
There have been a number of incidents in recent years in which U.S. Postal Service employees encountered rodents and bats at area post offices, including in March, when a rat jumped on an employee at the Richard Pino Station on the West Side while he was placing mail in the on-site P.O. boxes.
“A supervisor investigated the incident, and as she opened a drawer in the area, another rat jumped out, causing the supervisor to scream,” said Dan D. Huerta, a spokesman for local 380 of the American Postal Workers Union.
He blamed Postal Service cutbacks to custodial and maintenance workers.