Angie Harmon Shares How She Rescued Her Pet Squirrel: ‘The First Thing He Saw Was Me’ (Exclusive)

Angie Harmon Explains How She Started Living That Squirrel Mom Life!

The Buried at Barstow star, known for his roles on Law and order and Rizzoli & Islesexclusively shared with PEOPLE how she found her new friend, a 3-month-old squirrel named Thomas.

“I mean, when he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was me,” Harmon, 51, tells PEOPLE.

“So my youngest daughter found it on the sidewalk, and there was no tree to put it on,” the mom of three recalls the discovery of her daughter Emery (14), who has two older sisters, Avery (18) and Finley, 20.

When Harmon heard about Emery’s furry discovery, she told her daughter to “go find the nearest tree, put them under it” and wait for her mother to return.

Unfortunately, the mother squirrel never returned to the area when Emery found the newborn rodent. I

“So I said, ‘Okay, I’ll come get him,'” Harmon says. “And then I’ve had it ever since.”

Angie Harmon’s Rescue Squirrel, Thomas.

Carrie Frank

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When “little” Thomas opened his eyes, it was about “a month later.”

“He was like a newborn,” says the actress about caring for the young squirrel.

“I literally had to get up every hour and a half to feed him. I mean, I didn’t sleep for a month,” she adds. – It was brutal.

Harmon first had to “figure out how to feed him.”

“He gets puppy milk powder, and then I mix it with goat’s milk,” Harmon says of Thomas’ first meals. “Now we’re venturing into all new types of food.”

Feeding a squirrel often comes with a few scratches, but Harmon doesn’t mind.

“I happily accept the scratches. He is my child. I love him very much,” she says.

Angie Harmon and her rescue squirrel Thomas.

Carrie Frank

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The Texas native, who lives in North Carolina, says her girls have now gotten used to their mom’s love for Thomas and have bonded with him, but “not as much as I did,” Harmon says.

Harmon notes that after the announcement about Thomas, she started hearing from many self-proclaimed “squirrel experts” on social media.

“It’s so funny because when something like this happens, all of a sudden, all your friends go crazy. They’re all squirrel experts. I thought you were a vodka expert,” he laughs.

Angie Harmon’s pet squirrel, Thomas.

Carrie Frank

She first posted about her new rodent friend on Instagram on Sept. 15 and often uses the hashtag “#squirrelmomproblems” on subsequent social media posts about Thomas.

“Totally CRAZY about this little guy!!! (See what I did there?😉🐿️🌰🍼) I haven’t slept in two weeks but I’ve never been happier,” Harmon wrote alongside her first post with the creature. “Everyone, meet Thomas, Thomas, meet everyone!”

Harmon plans to introduce Thomas to new things as he grows up.

“He’s not coming out yet. We’re in the kitchen right now, and he’s literally flying around me, he’ll jump off the counter, and then he’ll come back to me,” she said. he says.

Angie Harmon’s Rescue Squirrel, Thomas.

Carrie Frank

Although the animal lover has pets, including three dogs and two cats (“they’re all rescues,” she says), they know to stay away from Thomas.

Harmon’s “middle dog” Oliver, a German shepherd/beagle mix, even helped Harmon feed Thomas.

“When I overslept when Thomas was a ‘baby’, Oliver would bark at me to wake me up to go feed him,” says the actress.

Angie Harmon with Thomas the Squirrel.

Carrie Frank

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Harmon adds that she is ready to let Thomas go when the animal seems ready, but knows it will be difficult.

“I’m attached, but I don’t want to be selfish. I want him to be a squirrel, I want him to be outside and do all that, but I’m not going to let him go if he doesn’t have the skills to be outside. It’s like putting a three-year-old in the mall and saying, ‘Well , good luck!’ I can not do it.”

“But he’s just great,” she adds. “And it’s getting there!”

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Source: HIS Education