Pets

Peanut The Squirrel was marked for death even before the government raided his owner's home ... and this whole case seems even more fishy.

We tackled the subject on "TMZ Live," with Harvey and Charles explaining why some of the conspiracy theories around this case aren't as crazy as they sound.

Frankly, we don't think it makes a whole lot of sense for authorities to say they ordered a fatal rabies test for Peanut because an officer got bit by the animal during the raid ... because now we know state officials advised the county to euthanize the animals a week before the raid was launched.

Some in the office think owner Mark Longo put these animals in danger by trying to make them social media stars ... but not everyone is buying it ... and the need for a search warrant here is definitely up for debate.

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Piff the Magic Dragon's longtime performing companion and beloved Chihuahua, Mr. Piffles, has died ... the Las Vegas magician confirms to TMZ.

The "America's Got Talent" alum tells us ... his beloved canine conjuror passed away on November 8th, just before his 17th birthday ... with Piff crediting the rescue dog for making his act sensational.

He adds ... "For over 15 years I’ve had the privilege and the pleasure of being upstaged and outshone night after night by Mr. Piffles. He came into my life when I had nothing, and set me on the path to a career I could only dream of. In the beginning, I may have rescued him, but in the end, he rescued me."

Peanut the Squirrel is officially in the clear, testing negative for rabies after his death, but get this -- it's also emerged that both he and Fred the Raccoon were set for the chopping block days before they were seized in a raid ... and their owner is absolutely livid over it.

Mark Longo didn't hold back, telling TMZ it's hard to stomach the bombshell revelation that 4 different agencies had already given the green light to euthanize his pets 7 days before they were even taken from his Upstate New York property on October 30.

The New York Post reports state officials advised the county to euthanize the animals a week before the raid was launched. This news contradicts the New York Department of Environmental Conservation's claim that Peanut had bitten an agent during the raid ... supposedly necessitating the rabies test. Animals must be euthanized to properly test for rabies.

Kirk Herbstreit's grieving the loss of man's best friend ... breaking down over his dog Ben's death live on-air.

The football commentator appeared on ESPN's "College GameDay" Saturday morning ... just two days after he announced he and his wife had to put down his golden retriever -- who traveled with him to many of his games.

During the broadcast, ESPN played a clip all about Ben ... with Kirk talking about how he was far more than just a dog or travel companion -- and, clearly Ben's still feeling very raw emotionally 'cause he could barely talk about Ben during the show.

Peanut the squirrel might just get justice after all ... as authorities are investigating a raid that resulted in the tragic death of the beloved social media star, TMZ has confirmed.

Mark Longo, Peanut's owner, tells TMZ ... he has been made aware that the Department of Environmental Conservation is conducting an “internal investigation” into why 2 of his pets were seized  -- and later killed -- from his Pine City home.

ML tells us he does not know too much at this point ... but he is expecting to hear more on Saturday about just what the heck is going on.

Barstool Sports' Dave Portnoy sat down with Brianna "Chickenfry" LaPaglia to spill some tea about her ex, Zach Bryan -- claiming Zach kicked his rescue dog, Miss Peaches, out of a dressing room.

Dave recounted how the alleged incident happened at the country singer's July concert at Gillette Stadium outside Boston ... and Brianna responded on Thursday's "BFFs" podcast, saying she had no clue it went down, since -- as far as she knew -- Zach was totally fine with him bringing both his dog and hers.

Dave elaborated ... saying at one point he was heading back to the dressing room when he caught sight of Zach with the dog as he was escorting her out.

Tragedy has struck the Herbstreit household ... Kirk Herbstreit just revealed his famous dog, Ben Herbstreit, has died.

The renowned football commentator said on his X page Thursday morning that he and his family were forced to let their pooch go after vets said the cancer the dog had been battling had spread to his organs.

"I've had dogs my whole life," Kirk said in announcing the sad news, "but Ben was 1 on 1."

Peanut the Squirrel's tragic fate is stirring emotions across the Internet, but at least one town leader in Chemung, NY -- where Peanut's owner lives -- isn't rattled at all, and seems over the whole ordeal.

Chemung Town Supervisor George Richter tells TMZ ... he has no knowledge of the squirrel saga exploding on his turf. Remember, Mark Longo and his wife, Daniela, claim 2 of their rescue pets -- Peanut and Fred the raccoon -- were unjustly seized last week, and killed over alleged rabies concerns.

While the story's gone viral, Richter says he has no plans to advocate on behalf of the late Peanut, nor Mark and Daniela -- making it clear he won't be speaking to Governor Kathy Hochul about the raid.

Peanut The Squirrel should be alive right now, because it's improbable the fully domesticated animal had rabies ... so says an infectious disease expert.

NY state officials killed the internet sensation last week in order to test Peanut for rabies, but a doctor well versed in rabies says authorities might have jumped the gun in impulsively testing for the disease.

Dr. Edward R. Rensimer tells TMZ ... the CDC's position is that squirrels are not considered to be carriers or spreaders of rabies and to his knowledge, there's never been a recorded case of squirrel-to-human rabies transmission.

Peanut the Squirrel's story hit hard for one New York State Assemblyman, who's now pushing for a law to stop future animal heartbreaks like the one that befell the social media star -- and he says a request for an investigation is falling on deaf ears.

Jake Blumencranz, repping Assembly District 15 on Long Island, has drafted "Peanut's Law: The Humane Animal Protection Act," which would impose a 72-hour wait before euthanizing any sanctuary animal. He tells TMZ the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and Governor Kathy Hochul have been radio silent about an investigation into the matter so far.

Blumencranz, a big-time animal advocate, says all he's heard from authorities is that DEC officials were just following the rules when they seized Peanut from P'nuts Freedom Farm Animal Sanctuary. And, that's exactly why he's pushing for change -- because current protocols feel way too extreme and lack compassion for the animals involved.

Peanut the Squirrel's supporters are making it clear they're pissed NY State officials confiscated and euthanized the animal ... by coordinating multiple bomb threats on state government offices.

The Department of Environmental Conservation is one of 2 agencies that conducted last week's raid at Mark Longo's home in upstate NY's Chemung County -- but DEC offices all over the state have now been evacuated due to the bomb threats.

Sources with the NYPD tell TMZ ... there was a bomb threat claiming an explosive device was planted inside a DEC office in Long Island City ... and, cops believe the threat is related to the Peanut the Squirrel case.

Mark Longo says he's not using the tragedy and controversy surrounding Peanut The Squirrel to drum up subscriptions for his porn page.

Peanut's owner joined us on "TMZ Live" Monday and told us he thinks his OnlyFans is the reason his farm got raided in the first place.

Mark says authorities asked him if he had any cameras in his house ... a strange question to ask if they were there only because he broke the law by harboring 2 undomesticated animals in Peanut and Fred the Racoon.

Peanut the squirrel’s heartbreaking story has tugged at the heartstrings of thousands nationwide after the rodent was seized and euthanized by authorities last week -- but a notable NYC Assemblywoman tells us despite it being a sad situation, human lives need to be prioritized.

Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, the Majority Whip in the New York State Assembly, tells TMZ that while she’s an ardent animal-rights advocate and sympathizes with Peanut’s owner, Mark Longo ... she believes euthanizing Peanut was the only option, since the N.Y. State Dept. of Environmental Conservation's investigation revealed the squirrel bit someone.

Hermelyn explains to us DEC had no choice but to put down Peanut so they could test the rodent for rabies, which is deadly for 99% of humans who catch it. She also notes it's well-known there are no approved methods to test animals for rabies while they're still alive.

The agencies that raided a New York farm and seized Peanut the squirrel were actually there because some officials had a problem with porn ... that's what some sources connected to the drama believe.

As we reported, the New York State Dept. of Environmental Conservation and the Chemung County Health Dept. got a search warrant and showed up at Mark Longo's farm last week, seizing Peanut and Fred the racoon under the pretext Longo broke the law by harboring 2 undomesticated animals.

But, here's the deal ... Mark tells TMZ when officials showed up they asked questions that had nothing to do with the animals. Mark says one of the first questions -- "Do you have any cameras in your house?"

Elon Musk's humanoid robots may have a run for their money ... a robot dog-walker has taken a robot pup for a stroll in a new video making the rounds online.

Check it out ... the human-looking android stomps around a dog park in China while guiding a metallic pooch on a leash. Unsurprisingly, onlookers stare as the metal man aimlessly guides the robot pup over the grass ... not that the bot pup needs to actually do its business on the ground.

Of course, this robot outing comes weeks after Elon gave a taste of his plans for an autonomous future ... which includes Tesla's Optimus "personal assistant."