P’nut the Squirrel’s grieving family gives tearful statement on TikTok: ‘I’m sad, I’m disgusted’
The owner of P’nut the Squirrel gave a tearful statement on TikTok, Saturday about the tiny creature’s death at the hands of New York State officials.
Mark Longo, joined by his wife, sobbed through his prepared remarks on the killing of his beloved best friend.
“I’m angry, I’m sad, I’m disgusted,” Longo said while choking back his emotions in a clip of a TikTok live.
“We fight and work everyday to pay our state taxes and they turn around and they do this to a family,” Longo said.
New York State and the Department of Environmental Conservation have faced mass public blowback for their actions.
Many of the DEC’s social media posts have gotten hundreds of comments from outraged supporters of P’nut the Squirrel.
The animal rescuer also thanked his fans and the general public for “unbelievable support.” A GoFundMe set up by Longo in P’nut’s honor has raised over $73,000.
The couple also say that they are inundated with warm messages from supporters.
Longo also said that he will continue to post photos and content of P’nut “in his best days.”
Longo told The Post that he felt like a “terrorist” when state authorities came into his home on Wednesday.
Agents from the DEC went through the Pine City residence for five hours — making Longo and his wife wait outside the entire time — after obtaining a warrant to search the premises.
Follow along for The Post’s latest coverage of the saga of P’Nut the Squirrel
- P’nut the Squirrel, beloved pet and internet sensation, euthanized after being seized by NY state
- P’nut the Squirrel’s grieving family gives tearful statement on TikTok: ‘I’m sad, I’m disgusted’
- P’nut the Squirrel’s grieving owner says he was treated like a ‘terrorist’ in 5-hour raid by NY state
- Fans of P’nut the Squirrel raise over $158K after beloved pet was euthanized by NY state: ‘Justice for Peanut!’
- Anti-Trump website falls for fake statement about P’nut the Squirrel’s death
- Who ratted out P’nut the Squirrel? Grieving owners have their theory — and it’s a rich one
Longo, 34, said he and his wife weren’t even allowed to use their own bathrooms during the invasive raid without a police escort — “who checked the back of the toilet to see if I was hiding anything there.”
The warrant stemmed from anonymous complaints of an animal that is a known vector for rabies, namely, Fred the raccoon.
On Friday, the DEC announced that it had euthanized both P’nut and Fred to test them for rabies.
The department claimed in a statement Thursday that P’nut, who was notably friendly and docile through the course of his public facing life, had bitten an agent and needed to be tested for rabies.
Longo has expressed skepticism about this claim.
“I watched everybody put gloves on before they entered my house. They had gloves that you get an eagle to land on,” he told The Post.
He is demanding an investigation into the department’s rationale and actions and is filing a motion to get the medical records of the officials in his house to see if they actually test positive for the very rare disease.
