When Robert Milburn came across a tiny, hairless creature the size of his thumb in his driveway, he had no idea what it was. So he took it inside, wrapped it up to keep it warm and started Googling.
After figuring out it was a newborn squirrel that had probably fallen out of its nest, he put it back outside in a shallow box and waited to see if the mom would return for it. She did come to check it out, but then left it again. (Later, Milburn would find out that the baby squirrel had a mouth deformity which most likely made it unable to suckle properly.)
Milburn didn’t think the wee one would survive, but he decided to do his best. He took it back inside and began feeding it puppy formula with a syringe every three hours, around the clock. He said it was “like having a newborn baby in the house.”
It worked. The squirrel grew and grew and they began to bond.
Once Milburn knew the babe was going to make it and could identify it as a male, he named him Bobby. (Robert T. Squirrel, to be precise—the T is for “The”).
Milburn shared the story of Bobby’s rescue and their relationship with Newsner’s We Love Animals channel, and I feel a duty to warn you that the video will almost-pretty-much-for-sure make you want a pet squirrel. Milburn shared the video on his TikTok channel dedicated to Bobby, where it has collected more than four million views.
Watch:
@robertsquirrel From an interview on Newsner who has 30 million followers in 11 languages
But that’s not where the story ends.
Bobby has a family now out in his little squirrel house. He and his squirrel wife, Barbara Ann, are the proud parents of four youngsters—Peepers, Jeepers, Creepers and Sneekers.
“Peepers seldom ventures from the treehouse, and Jeepers is a bit more adventurous. Creepers creeps out further, and Sneekers sneaks into other trees,” Milburn shared on his website, bobbysquirrel.com.
Milburn’s @robertsquirrel Tiktok channel has a trove of sweet videos like this one, in which Bobby came inside because he was scared of a thunderstorm.
@robertsquirrel Scares #bobbysquirrel #storm #thunder #throwbackthursday #fyp #nature
He knew just where to go for safety and comfort. Too sweet.
Bobby is totally comfortable going back and forth from his outdoor home to his human’s home—and his human’s pockets.
@robertsquirrel Pocket Squirrel #bobbysquirrel #squirrel #fyp #nature #funny #love
In fact, Milburn shares, Bobby comes to visit him inside almost every day.
Unfortunately, Milburn has run into some trouble with his HOA, which informed him that he needed to stop feeding the squirrels in his yard as they were considered a “nuisance.”
But who could watch Bobby listening to his story being told in the video below and tell us he’s a nuisance? Come on now.
@robertsquirrel Happy time #bobbysquirrel #throwbackthursday #squirrel
Milburn has been asked if squirrels make good pets, and he has clarified that raising one as a newborn is very different than trying to domesticate a wild squirrel. Squirrels do have sharp teeth and long claws, he pointed out in a video with this face covered in Band-Aids. (He shared that he’s been working on building a friendship with Barbara Ann, who grew up in the wild, and while it’s slow-going, he feels he’s making progress.)
Milburn has also created a children’s book called “Bobby and Friends,” which includes 10 short stories for children ages 2 to 11 and an accompanying coloring book.
People can’t get enough of Bobby the squirrel, and who can blame them? He’s the pet squirrel most of us wish we could have—one who has a full outdoor life as he should, but who also likes to come in for some cuddles with his people.