No guard dog here: An Idaho man said his pet squirrel foiled a home invasion burglary in between jumping across the furniture and wolfing down snacks.

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Adam Pearl said Monday he knew something was off when he approached his home in Meridian last week and spotted snow prints headed to the backyard. Then he noticed scratches around his gun safe -- as if somebody had tried to get in.

But his squirrel, Joey, seemed just fine.

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So Pearl called a police officer, who seemed startled by the rodent scurrying between her legs, KIVI reported. "She says, 'Whoa, what was that,' and I said, 'Ahhh don't worry about that, that's just Joey, my pet squirrel, you know.'"

He added, "I said, well, he usually doesn't bite but you never know 'cause he is a squirrel."

Sure enough, Officer Ashley Turner reportedly returned hours later carrying some of his stolen items, and saying she may have solved the case.

Pearl said the officer had started questioning a suspect. "She said while she was questioning the individual he had scratches on his hands. So she asked him, 'Did you get that from the squirrel?' And he says, 'Yeah, damn thing kept attacking me and wouldn't stop until I left.'"

The proud owner said he thanked his squirrel with its favorite snack: not nuts, but candy. "He is a pain in the butt, but he is great."

It's not clear exactly how much the unnamed suspect may have stolen. Meridian is about 15 minutes west of Boise.

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