MERIDIAN — Adam Pearl walked into his Meridian home Tuesday and realized something didn’t seem right.

“I came in the front door and I saw snow prints out in the front driveway going to the back of the house, so I thought something was awry because no one usually goes through the yard,” Pearl told KIVI.

Pearl was immediately greeted by his pet squirrel Joey when he got home, but the he started noticing a few doors that would normally be closed were open.

After making his way to the back bedroom, his fear was confirmed once he stated looking at his gun safe.

“I started looking at it and saw the scratches that are around the locking area, and at that point, I knew somebody was definitely in here messing around,” explained Pearl.

Pearl called Meridian police and when officer Ashley Turner came out to take a look, Joey just had to say hello.

“During her investigations Joey had run in the bedroom, just screwing around like he always does, between her legs and kind of startled her,” explained Pearl. She says, ‘Whoa, what was that?’ and I said, ‘Ah, don’t worry about that, that’s just Joey, my pet squirrel, ya know?'”

Officer Turner asked Pearl if Joey would bite.

“I said, ‘Well, he usually doesn’t bite, but you never know ’cause he is a squirrel,'” replied Pearl.

Officer Turner went on her way, only to return a few hours later with some of his stolen belongings and some unbelievable news.

“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,'” said Pearl.

Now Joey is being hailed a hero.

“Nobody can believe it, because who can say they have a squirrel that guards their house, which is crazy,” said Pearl. “You can’t ask for much more than that. He is a pain in the butt, but he is great.”

Pearl said he thanked Joey by giving him his favorite treat, the candy whoppers!