The election that we thought would never get here happens today and every single person I know is exhausted by it. I suppose we should not be surprised that it has shaken weird stories out of the woodwork, but honestly when I saw this I was just glad it wasn’t a beaver.

Here’s Why Trump’s Campaign Is Posting About a Dead Squirrel

Peanut the Squirrel was a mainstay on social media — and his euthanization sparked a backlash

It’s tough to think that a squirrel might tilt the presidential election, but it’s 2024, so here we are. 

It all started last week, when an Instagram-famous rodent named Peanut was taken from a house near Elmira, New York, along with a raccoon named Fred. Peanut had lived with Mark Longo and his wife, Daniela, for the past seven years; Fred had lived there for about five months. Rescuing Peanut from near-death and bonding with him had inspired the couple to start a nonprofit animal sanctuary — P’Nut Freedom Farm — and Fred had been left at their doorstep. 

I’m sure you can see where this is going. P’nut freedom farm seems kind of like the thing you see. I guess keeping the animals in your house after you rehabbed them might be a problem in some circles.

But then, on Oct. 30, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) raided their home, and after a five-hour search, the two animals were confiscated. According to a statement given to WENY, a local TV station, by the DEC and the county health department, Peanut had bitten one of the investigators, and both animals had to be euthanized in order to test for rabies. 

In a more reasonable timeline, the animals’ caretakers and fans would mourn them, and perhaps it would spark internet discourse on the ethics of keeping wild animals indoors, effectively as pets. (All the other animals in their care live outside.) But like a 2024 Murphy’s law, if something ends up trending, it must become political. 

Ouch, Of course the only way you can test a creature for rabies is to take slices of its brain and no animal seems to live through that. It is true that sometimes when someone is bitten they just treat the human in case, but that’s when the animal gets away. And P’nut clearly did not.

So dead squirrel.

Do you think DEC might have been a little heavy handed here? Do you think they saw the videos on you tube and thought I just have to free that squirrel! Do you think they might have called first and said “you have to keep that squirrel outside or we’re coming to take him”? Well maybe they did the story doesn’t say.

But do you think they at least could have looked at the calendar and thought, hmm…maybe not a week before the election. Let’s just wait a bit on that.

I”m sure the thought is that outrage over p’nut could kind of have the similar effect of the Kristi Noem gravel pit story with her puppy. I’ll let you know how that works out for them.