A man who took in an orphaned squirrel and made it a social media star vowed Saturday that New York state’s decision to seize and euthanize the animal “won’t go unheard.”

The local sheriff’s office distanced itself Monday from the killing of an Internet-famous squirrel that has prompted furious online backlash and even bomb threats.

Peanut the Squirrel's owner, Mark Longo, shares a tearful message on Instagram, after his pet squirrel and raccoon were euthanized by authorities. The internet-famous wildlife animals were confiscated by Department of Environmental Conservation officials,