P’Nut the Squirrel’s caretaker fears animal was decapitated by DEC as he plans funeral and lawsuit
An Upstate New York man fears his pet squirrel was decapitated after state agents seized the rodent from his home – as a funeral is set for the internet-famous creature.
P'Nut's grieving owner Mark Longo told The Post he's planning a lawsuit against the state Department of Environmental Conservation after they raided his home, took the squirrel away and euthanized it to test for rabies.
"I'm hoping to give him a proper burial," Longo told The Post of P'Nut's last rites, which will be held through a fully functioning human funeral home that offered its space free of charge.
"But seven days later the body hasn't been returned. No results of rabies tests have been given."
The DEC claimed it was forced to perform rabies tests on P'Nut and Longo's pet racoon named Fred — and those tests require a sample from the subject's brain.
It's a prospect Longo shudders to think about, and one he's ready to sue over.
"This is much bigger than a squirrel and a raccoon. This is about government overreach," he said. "We want justice for what transpired at my home. You violated my home. You assassinated my animals."
P'Nut — a squirrel with a penchant for proportional cowboy hats — was raised by Longo and his wife in their home for seven years since they rescued him as an orphaned pup.
After rehabilitating the helpless animal for eight months they released him — but he refused to leave, so they took him into their home full time, according to the couple.
In those years the squirrel amassed a following on social media, and inspired the Longos to relocate from Connecticut and open a 350-acre animal sanctuary upstate in Pine City.
But in October that all came crashing down when the DEC showed up in response to an anonymous complaint about the Longos housing P'Nut and Fred in their home, and after tearing the house apart left with the animals. P'Nut supposedly bit one of the agents on the hand during the operation, prompting the DEC to euthanize both animals.
And Longo hasn't heard a word from the DEC since.
"I got wind of my animals being murdered through a news station," Longo said. "I, as a New York State citizen, got my animals murdered by my own government, and my own government couldn't call me to tell me what happened. I had to read it in a newspaper.
"Somebody needs to be held accountable for the massive overreach in power," he added.
Longo has already retained an attorney, Nora Marino, and hopes anybody who has had a similar situation with the DEC to get in touch as they prepare their lawsuit.
"If it's happened to you — if you know anyone it's happened to — please reach out, we need to call for action," Longo said.
"What is stopping average Joe from calling and complaining about your neighbor now? If you complain enough are you able to get a search warrant? When does it end?"
Over the next few days, however, Longo is just focused on laying his furry friends to rest, with a service possibly taking place at an Elmira funeral home as soon as Saturday.
"This should have never happened to begin with. But in a way, I'm glad it did. Because it gave Peanut the voice to shed light on what's going on in our government," he said.
The DEC declined to comment and cited ongoing litigation when reached by The Post.
