In 2009, the Harrison family rescued a four-week-old squirrel after finding it seriously injured from an owl attack. They took her to their South Carolina home and went about nursing her back to good health. Little did they know this was just the beginning of something special.
The family named the squirrel Bella and fed her fruits and nuts as they kept her safe until she’d be ready to be returned to the wild. She was able to be released in 2010, and they thought they’d never see her again. They were wrong.
Bella would regularly return to the home over the next eight years to visit the family who loved and cared for her. She’d tap on the window waiting for someone to notice her. The friendly squirrel even hung out with them in the backyard.
“Bella sits right at the front door waiting for someone to notice she has come by for a visit. She has even resorted to jumping over to the dining room window to peer in for someone to see her,” they said.
At this point, Bella had basically become part of the family. And when she injured her foot one day, she knew exactly what to do: go to her loving family for help.
She knew she’d be safe with them and remembered how well they cared for her the first time around. They once again nursed the squirrel back to health, but she had a big surprise for them. The family looked in the rehabilitation cage and saw three tiny babies!
They were stunned and happy to see the baby squirrel they raised have babies of her own! It’s almost as if Bella wanted to share this precious moment with her human family and carefully planned how it would all play out. Either way, it was the perfect scenario!