When you go viral online, you want to keep the ball rolling.
Sometimes, people go viral for the strangest things, and that is the case with the man who owned a squirrel, named Peanut.
Over the past few years, Peanut the Squirrel has amassed a massive following but it seems as if everybody was not happy with the living situation. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) got involved after somebody revealed what was taking place.
Poor Peanut was taken from his home by 10 officers. They also took
'Fred the Raccoon' and on October 30, both of the animals were euthanized.
The former owner of Fred and Peanut, Mark Longo described the squirrel as being his 'best friend' The 34-year-old man lived with his furry companions on a 350-acre property in Elmira.
According to a statement from the DEC, the squirrel bit an investigator while it was being confiscated from the home. The statement read: "In addition, a person involved with the investigation was bitten by the squirrel. To test for rabies, both animals were euthanized.
"The animals are being tested for rabies and anyone who has been in contact with these animals is strongly encouraged to consult their physician."
As you can imagine, this has received a lot of negative press online and the DEC is not looking good at this point. They did say that after the seizure of the two animals, they launched an internal investigation, whatever that happens to mean.
The New York Post also reported that Joshua Crain is the DEC investigator who obtained the search warrant after saying that the squirrel and raccoon were being housed illegally. There was no mention of a rabies concern in the court records.
Longo came under investigation in January after somebody reported that a squirrel was being housed illegally.
A spokesman for the DEC said: "An internal investigation into the matter is ongoing, and we are reviewing internal policies and procedures to ensure we continue serving this core mission."
State and local health departments, including the state Health Department, the Chemung County Health Department, and the DEC are not yet sharing the results about the rabies testing. They have also not reported the status of the animal.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that rabies tests are usually available within 72 hours after the animal is euthanized and the sample is received by the lab. A report has not been released since June, and the institution is not commenting on whether it received specimens from the county recently.
Since they are refusing to release information crucial to the issue, the Washington Post was advised by the DEC to file a freedom of information law request.
That request would allow the 'public the right to request access to records from any federal agency' and is designed to keep citizens aware of what is happening in the government.
Longo posted a video on TokTok, saying he was 'angry, sad, and disgusted. He said: "We fight and work every day to pay our state taxes and they turn around and they do this to a family.
The animal owner is planning on suing the DEC.