# Former owner of P’Nut, pet squirrel decapitated by NY, is detained by ICE — but husband says arrest is mistake

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/former-owner-of-pnut-pet-squirrel-decapitated-by-ny-is-detained-by-ice-but-husband-says-arrest-is-mistake/
- Published: 2026-11-11T15:42:25+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-11T16:37:40+00:00
- Original publisher: New York Post (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://nypost.com/2026/11/11/us-news/former-owner-of-pnut-the-squirrel-detained-by-ice-but-husband-says-arrest-is-mistake/
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Daniela Bittler has been in ICE custody for nearly a month, her husband says.
- Longo attributes her detention to an immigration paperwork issue.
- The couple’s sanctuary cares for about 600 animals.

## Summary

Daniela Bittler, the German-born former owner of viral squirrel P’Nut, has been held by US immigration authorities for nearly a month, according to her husband, Mark Longo. He says the detention stems from an error in her immigration paperwork and fears she could be deported without a hearing, disrupting the animal sanctuary they run.

Longo says Bittler entered the US legally on a visa and was detained on 16 October as they arrived at an airport in upstate New York. He says she has been transferred through detention centres in New York, Louisiana and Texas, and went more than two weeks without replacement contact lenses. The couple’s sanctuary cares for about 600 animals, including 100 horses; the Department of Homeland Security and ICE had not responded to requests for comment.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.