Owner of Influencer Peanut the Squirrel Gives Update on Pet After N.Y. Authorities Seize Animal

“There is a small chance we can get him back home," Mark Longo said of his beloved pet, who he took in seven years ago

• On Oct. 30, Mark Longo, the owner of social media star Peanut the squirrel, shared the animal was seized by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

• Since the seizure, a fundraiser for Peanut has raised over $7,000 to help cover legal expenses to fight for the animal's return to Longo

• Longo shared an update on the situation with Peanut's more than 500,000 Instagram followers on Nov. 1

The owner of a beloved squirrel influencer, Peanut, has given an update on the social media star after state authorities seized the animal in New York.

Peanut, who boasts 535,000 followers on Instagram and 423,000 on Facebook, was seized by officers from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, according to a statement made by the squirrel's owner, Mark Longo, on Peanut's official Instagram account on Wednesday, Oct. 30.

In a follow-up post shared on Friday, Nov. 1, Longo thanked fans of Peanut, whose name is also spelled P'Nut or PNUT, for their support and said there is a "small chance" he can get his pet back.

"I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for everybody coming together for this," Longo began in the video. "I haven't received any update on Peanut. We're still in kind of the same waiting stage."

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Longo then continued, "But as we're waiting, we still have to focus on our non-profit animal rescue, so I can't thank you all enough for the love and support. It has been a terrible nightmare for me, but we still have 300 animals to take care of, so if you can continue to keep signing the petition and donate if you can, it really means a lot to us."

"Thank you for sticking with us and my family. We love you all, please continue to spread the word and let's get Peanut back," he concluded.

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"We can't thank all of you enough for the outpouring of support," Longo captioned the video. "There is a small chance we can get him back home, so please continue to sign the petition (LINK IN BIO) ❤️ I will keep everyone updated. We LOVE you all."

Longo's update comes a day after he said in a video posted on Oct. 31 that he did not know if Peanut "was alive or not."

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"I just want to say thank you for the bottom of my heart for all the support yall have showed me and my wife. This is an absolute tragedy, and I'm praying we still have a chance," he shared in another Instagram post on the same day.

In his post on Oct. 30 revealing Peanut had been taken from his home, Longo said he was "in shock, disbelief, and disgusted to the people who did this to PNUT."

"Today at 10 am Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024… The NY State DEC showed up to my house and took Peanut. He was TAKEN to the EUTHANIZED," he said in the statement, referring to Peanut as his "best friend" for the last seven years.

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, the DEC said it conducted an investigation following "multiple reports from the public about the potentially unsafe housing of wildlife that could carry rabies and the illegal keeping of wildlife as pets."

The statement added that the "DEC's investigation is ongoing, and additional information will be provided as it becomes available."

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In addition to Peanut, the DEC seized an injured raccoon named Fred, according to the Associated Press. Longo had had the animal for a few months and had hoped to release it back into the wild.

According to the outlet, Longo took Peanut in after seeing the rodent's mother get hit by a car, and their bond is what inspired him to start the P'Nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary in April 2023.

Since Peanut was seized, Longo helped create a Change.org petition and a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to help "cover legal fees for attorneys who will assist us in addressing the damage caused and ensuring Peanut's return to his loving home."

At publication, the fundraiser had raised over $7,000 of its $15,000 goal.