Authorities in the state of New York detained a squirrel known on Instagram, nicknamed Peanut

(AP) – A New York man who turned a rescued squirrel into a social media star named Peanut is asking authorities to return his beloved pet after they seized it during a raid that also found a raccoon on it I’m Fred.

Multiple anonymous complaints about Peanut — also spelled P’Nut or PNUT — led at least six state Department of Environmental Protection officers to Mark Longo’s home near the Pennsylvania border in rural Pine City on Wednesday, Longo said.

“The CAA came to my house and raided it without a search warrant to find a squirrel!” said Longo, 34. “They treated me like I was a drug dealer and they were looking for drugs and guns.”

The officers went with Pinato, who has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram, TikTok and other platforms during his seven years with Longo. They also took in Fred, a recent addition to the family.

A DEC official said in a statement that the agency began the investigation after receiving “numerous reports from the public about the potentially dangerous keeping of wild animals that may carry rabies and the illegal keeping of wild animals as pets.”

Longo, who runs an animal sanctuary inspired by his squirrel friend called P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary, reached out to Instagram to mourn the loss of Peanut.

“Well Internet, you WIN,” Longo wrote. “You took one of the most amazing animals from me because of your selfishness. To the group of people who called DEC, there is a special place in hell for you.”

Longo fears that Peanut is euthanized. “I don’t know if Peanut is alive,” he said in a phone interview Thursday. “I don’t know where he is.”

A DEC spokesman did not respond to questions about whether Peanut was euthanized.

Longo said he saw Peanut’s mother get hit by a car in New York seven years ago, leaving the little squirrel an orphan. Longo brought Peanut home and cared for him for eight months before attempting to release the squirrel into the wild. “A day and a half later I found him sitting on my front porch with half his tail missing and the bone sticking out,” Longo said.

Longo decided that Peanut lacked the survival skills to live in the wild and would remain an indoor squirrel.

Soon after Longo posted videos of Peanut playing with his cat, the internet went viral.

A scroll through Peanut’s Instagram account suggests that this is no ordinary squirrel. Peanut jumps on Longo’s shoulders, he wears a miniature cowboy hat, he eats a waffle, and he has crocheted ears.

Over the years, Pinata’s story has been featured on television and in newspapers, among others USA today.

Longo, who works as a mechanical engineer, lived in Norwalk, Conn., until he decided to move to upstate New York last year to start an animal shelter.

P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary opened in April 2023 and now houses about 300 animals, including horses, goats and alpacas, said Longo, who runs the sanctuary with his wife, Daniela, and other family members.

Longo knows that owning a wild animal without a license is against New York state law. He said he is currently collecting paperwork to have Peanut certified as an educational animal.

“If we don’t follow the rules, lead us in the right direction to follow the rules, okay?” Longo said. “Let us know what we need to do to keep Peanut in the house and not worry about being taken.”

As for Fred, Longo said he had only had the raccoon for a few months and was hoping to rehabilitate the injured creature and release it back into the wild.

Longo is not the first pet owner to protest the confiscation of a pet by New York authorities. A man from the Buffalo area whose alligator he was the HVAC system was removed in March is suing the agency to get the 750-pound (340-kilogram) reptile back.

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