Who knew security squirrels were a thing?! Nuts, we know, but a rowdy rodent named Joey used physical force to fight off a burglar who broke into his owner's home in Meridan, Idaho. Adam Pearl, the squirrel's owner, told local station KIVI he knew "something was awry" when he arrived home and saw snowy footprints leading to the back of his house.

After receiving a warm welcome inside from Joey, Pearl said he noticed there were doors open that he hadn't left ajar. He then made his way to a back bedroom where he saw that his gun safe had scratches around its lock — presumably from someone unauthorized trying to open it.

"At that point, I knew somebody was definitely in here messing around," Pearl told KIVI. He proceeded to call the police, and when Officer Ashley Turner came to investigate the scene, Joey greeted her in a friendly manner.

"Joey had run in the bedroom, just kind of screwing around like he always does, [and ran] between her legs and kind of startled [Officer Turner]," said Pearl. "And she says, 'Whoa, what was that?' I said, 'Ah, don't worry about that — that's just Joey, my pet squirrel.'"

Turner asked if Joey bit people, to which Pearl replied rather honestly, "Well, he usually doesn't bite, but you never know — 'cause he is a squirrel."

A few hours later, Turner returned to Pearl's home bringing a few of his stolen belongings and a rave review of Joey's watch-squirrel skills. After asking about scratches on the suspect's hand, the individual confirmed that Pearl's squirrel had attacked him — and wouldn't stop doing so until he left the home!

"Nobody can believe it," Pearl told KIVI with a laugh, "because who can say they have a squirrel that guards their house? You can't ask for much more than that!"

Joey's owner said the saucy squirrel was being handsomely rewarded with his favorite treat: Whoppers Candy.

First Photo Credit: likeaduck via Flickr