“There have been no squirrel to human rabies transmission ever documented in this country,” said Rensimer, a Texas infectious disease specialist who has been studying rabies for decades.

“I can’t imagine, frankly, what their thinking was, if they knew anything about this area,” he added.

The social-media famous pet squirrel and Fred — a young raccoon kit being nursed back to strength — were euthanized by the Department of Environmental Conservation in October just hours after they were seized from the upstate home of caretaker Mark Longo, who runs an animal sanctuary on his property. //

“Some animals almost never get rabies,” the New York Department of Health states on its rabies fact sheet — specifically naming “small rodents such as squirrels” as only ever catching it under “rare circumstances.”

And while raccoons are generally agreed to be more prevalent carriers, the actual number of confirmed cases appears to be extremely low, according to data collected by New York state. There were just 35 lab-confirmed cases of rabies in raccoons in the 17 years since records were first kept in 2007, the data show. //

While the exact timeline for rabies infections in raccoons and squirrels is not entirely known, Rensimer said similarly sized animals like cats, dogs, and ferrets will almost always show symptoms within 10 days.

As Fred had been in Longo’s care for well more than 10 days, and P’Nut had been living with him for seven years — facts readily available due to Longo’s widely viewed social media — there was ample evidence to suggest the animals were rabies-free. //

And even if the DEC agent was especially worried about rabies — which is typically fatal in humans once it reaches the brain — Rensimer said a bite to the hand from an infected animal would take about 45 days or longer to transmit to the brain. //

Test results later showed that neither P’Nut nor Fred had rabies.

The DEC did not respond to request for comment on the agency’s employee immunization practices, and have still not provided any documentation that P’Nut bit anyone during the raid.

But all of the DEC’s explanations about squirrel bites and rabies fears were cast into doubt after The Post reported officials were plotting to euthanize P’Nut and Fred at least seven days before the supposed bite — and P’Nut’s caretaker has now filed claim to sue the state to find some answers.