Animals are known to easily form bonds with humans. Even animals that aren’t usually domesticated have shown attachments to particular individuals. And this squirrel found life long friends in a family who saved her life.
In 2009, Brantly Harrison and her family rescued a 4-week-old squirrel after they found it seriously injured from an owl attack. The poor squirrel was in poor shape, but the family took her back to their South Carolina home and nursed her back to good health.
Affectionately naming the squirrel Bella, the family fed her fruit and nuts and kept her safe until she was ready to be released back into the wild in the spring of 2010. They thought that they would never see the cute critter again, but they couldn’t have been more wrong.
Bella has returned to the family home regularly over the past 8 years to visit the family who saved her life. She would wait by the window, looking for somebody to notice her. She even became so friendly with the family that she would hang out with them in the garden.
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.
Bella has become a part of the family, loving to spend time with her people. But she had a surprise in store for the Harrisons when, one day, she arrived at their door with an injured foot.
She clearly knew that she would be in safe hands with the family, so they took her back in and gave her antibiotics and helped her to get back to health. Just as Bella seemed ready to be returned to the wild, they looked into her rehabilitation cage to find a huge surprise.
Bella had given birth to three tiny babies. They couldn’t have been more happy to witness the baby squirrel that they raised, have babies of her own.
Bella clearly wanted to share the next step in her journey with the humans that she cared about, and she knew would take care of her and her children until they were safe to venture back outside again.
If you loved Bella’s beautiful story and the close friendship between this wild animal and a human family, then be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments below and share with your friends. 🐝