Monica Keasler, a woman who faced a barrage of hate comments after being falsely accused of reporting Peanut the Squirrel to the DEC, has finally spoken out to prove her critics wrong.
Keasler’s name became linked to the case last week when several internet users alleged that she had reported the pet to New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation.
Highlights
- Monica Keasler was framed for reporting Peanut the Squirrel.
- Keasler faced hate after being falsely linked to Peanut being euthanized.
- A Freedom of Information Act request confirmed Keasler was not involved with DEC reports.
On October 30, Mark Longo, the former owner of the squirrel, announced that officials had raided his home and seized Peanut, a squirrel he had kept for seven years, along with a raccoon named Fred. Both animals were later euthanized by the DEC to be tested for rabies after Peanut bit someone involved in the investigation.
Image credits: peanut_the_squirrel12
Image credits: peanut_the_squirrel12
Keasler denied any involvement in the case, which caused a worldwide uproar, during an appearance with her attorney, Bill Price, on the iHeart podcast Veronica Live.
The Texas native said the hate directed at her and her family has been “harrowing.”
She said her twins were fans of the viral squirrel, which had amassed over 900,000 Instagram followers, and had a “good cry” upon learning that he had been put down.
Image credits: peanut_the_squirrel12
Keasler further disclosed that the rumors linking her to the case began when a “lady” from a Facebook group commented that Longo “should have known better and that they had wild animals in their home illegally and they were monetizing them and it was all wrong.”
However, her attorney interrupted her statement, saying, “Let’s not do to them what’s been done to you,” suggesting the “lady“ had launched the accusations in the group as payback over a disagreement.
Keasler did not reveal the identity of the woman. According to TikTok user @DollyBlondiee, Keasler was framed by a woman named Evelyn Lossia.
On October 30, Mark Longo announced that DEC officials had raided his home and seized Peanut, a squirrel he had kept for seven years, and a raccoon named Fred
Keasler allegedly speculated that Lossia reported Peanut to the DEC first, so Lossia turned the situation around on her as an act of revenge.
“Evelyn found out what Monica had said on the Squirrel Rehab and Advice Facebook group, and she did not like that, so she decided to go on the one squirrel rehabilitation group that she hadn’t been banned from and decided that she was going to get back at Monica and teach her a lesson,”@DollyBlondiee said.
Additionally, a fake account was created by someone posing as Keasler to frame her. Longo later urged fans to stop sending hateful comments to Keasler or anyone accused of reporting Peanut once the account was proven to be fabricated.
Monica Keasler said she was framed after a disagreement with another woman in a Facebook group dedicated to animal rehabilitation
Image credits: KeaslerMon75601
Image credits: KickassGracie
Speaking with @DollyBlondiee, Keasler said she had taken care of squirrels in the past and joined different squirrel rehab pages to know how to best take care of them before releasing them back into the wild. She also mentioned that she empathized with Longo because it’s “terrible to lose a pet.”
On the podcast, Keasler and her attorney shared a document that allegedly came from the DEC, exonerating her from speculation that she had reported the squirrel.
“Please be advised that a diligent search of the files maintained by DEC produced no responsive records. There are no records with your name (Monica Keasler) or any mention of involvement by you, relating to the seizure of wildlife form from a residence in Pine City, New York,” reads the email, sent on November 8 and shared by social media user Amuse.
TikToker @DollyBlondiee investigated the case and insisted on Keasler's innocence after reviewing screenshots from the group
“Monica does deserve to know who did this, who the real culprit is and we’re gonna get to the bottom of that,” said Keasler’s attorney, Price, adding that he has filed a FOIA request to learn who actually reported Peanut to the DEC.
The lawyer also mentioned that he would share the records with Longo.
Keasler said she and her family have been receiving death threats, visits to their home, fake 911 calls, and hate comments after another woman pinned the blame on her
Image credits: peanut_the_squirrel12
Image credits: peanut_the_squirrel12
A representative for the DEC previously stated that the agency began investigating Longo’s ownership of the animals after “multiple reports from the public about the potentially unsafe housing of wildlife that could carry rabies and the illegal keeping of wildlife as pets.”
Under New York State law, residents are not allowed to own a wild animal without a license. Longo said in an interview with the Associated Press that he was in the process of getting the squirrel certified as an educational animal.
Longo cared for Peanut until he was strong enough to be released, but said he found the critter back on his porch the following morning with "a chunk of his tail missing."
On Tuesday (November 13), county officials revealed that the animal had tested negative for rabies. After learning the results, Longo continued to criticize the government’s actions.
“It’s no real big shocker to me, considering I lived with Peanut for seven-and-a-half years and Fred for five months. I’m not foaming at the mouth,” the mechanical engineer said. “I knew the test results were going to be negative.”
Bored Panda has contacted New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation for comment.
"The internet owes this woman an apology," a reader concluded
