Everybody has heard about P’Nut the squirrel. He’s been all over the internet. He even seems to have played a minor role in the recent presidential election. For the two of you who might have been living underneath a rock, here’s the Reader’s Digest condensed version.
In 2017, a guy named Mark Longo discovered a newborn eastern grey squirrel orphaned when its mother was struck by a car in New York City. Longo scooped up the baby squirrel and made a sincere effort to find a shelter that would take the animal. With no ready options at hand, Longo christened the adorable beast P’Nut and fed him with a bottle.
When the little guy was eight months old, his owner decided it was time to set him free. Longo released P’Nut in his backyard without fanfare. The following day, P’Nut was cowering back on his porch, missing half his tail. When Longo opened the door, P’Nut scampered inside. He has been an integral part of the Longo family ever since.
P’Nut lived with Longo for the next seven years. Together, they managed a very successful Instagram account that accumulated some 534,000 followers. Everybody loved P’Nut. Well, not quite everybody …
In April 2023, Longo and his wife moved to upstate New York and founded the P’Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary. By November 2024, they had rescued 300 orphaned or injured animals. That’s not the way I’d choose to invest my life, but I am genuinely happy for them.
In October 2024, someone lodged an anonymous complaint against the Longos and their animal sanctuary. Agents of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) descended upon the Longo’s home and seized both P’Nut the squirrel and a similarly-domesticated raccoon named Fred. Apparently, P’Nut bit one of them in the process. Both animals were subsequently euthanized so they could be tested for rabies.
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