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“Do you want to come down to the City Attorney’s Office to meet Hawthorne?” was the gist of Seattle Police Sergeant Sean Whitcomb’s phone call to me last week.

“Yes, of course.”

You see, Peter Hawthorne is a bit of a celebrity, at least . Whitcomb adopted the orphaned gray squirrel in August and has been documenting his development ever since. Followers have watched him eat his first walnut, investigate a vacuum, and everything in between. He has not tried .

So on a cool December morning, we gathered in a conference room adjacent to City Attorney Pete Holmes’ office for a reunion of sorts. A squirrel reunion, complete with plenty of nuts. Real nuts, folks, real nuts.

Whitcomb brought Hawthorne downtown to meet the man, Kent Meyer, and his daughter, who rescued the baby squirrel while on an evening run over her college summer break. She wasn’t able to make it to the table, but dad took lots of photos.

So why is our city attorney involved? Well he’s Meyer’s boss. And when Meyer was faced with a suffering wild animal brought into his home by his concerned daughter, he immediately knew to contact Holmes, who has rehabilitated plenty of squirrels over the years.

“The next morning, I wake up and see an email from Pete, who said something like, ‘Hold on. It needs to be hydrated. Bring it into the office. I will stop at the pet store and get some puppy formula. And I’ll show you how to take care of it.'”

Kent admitted he would have just put it back where his daughter found it. But he brought the baby squirrel to Holmes.

Eventually, Whitcomb volunteered to be in charge of Hawthorne’s long-term recovery and reintroduction into the wild, which is most likely Whitcomb’s backyard. It’s a stone’s throw from a few neighborhood chestnut trees and the perfect stream for fresh water. And Whitcomb assured me that the door will always be open for Hawthorne’s return. Aw, what a good squirrel dad.

Below are just a few tweets about Hawthorne (OK, maybe more than a few):

DAY 1: We were entrusted to raise an orphaned baby squirrel until she is old enough to survive in the wild. We have named her Hawthorne.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

DAY 4: Fostering a baby squirrel isn’t all rainbows and unicorns. Lots of messy poop and pee today. This little guy needs a bath!

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

DAY 5: It’s the little things that are keeping Hawthorne occupied. I suspect this is going to get interesting really soon.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

DAY 6: Busy day for Hawthorne. Being a good squirrel, he didn’t complain about his accommodations one bit.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

DAY 8: The perfect perch.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

DAY 11: Let the house exploration begin!

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

DAY 12: Dollhouse life.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

DAY 13: Thank you for the squirrel-sized luxury condo. Little Peter Hawthorne loves it!

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Day 20: Hawthorne had a great day today. Very hopeful that he will be playing in the woods before long.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

DAY 22: It was just a matter of time, really.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

DAY 23: Hawthorne is becoming an adept climber, traversing the couch & on to my leg. He’s so small his nails don’t scratch the furniture.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Plan is to care for Hawthorne until he’s strong enough to survive in the wild. Living plants brighten his condo as we settle in for autumn.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

DAY 29: The body language says it all.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

DAY 33: Hawthorne is a playful squirrel!

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

I am a tree. A very, very calm tree.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Does Hawthorne like Honeycrisp apple slices? Yes, he does!

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Hey , hopefully this little video will make your daughter’s next trip to the dentist a little bit easier.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Not sure if Hawthorne saw a hawk or owl (or another squirrel?) outside our window, but it’s the first time he’s made this noise.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

We did our best to create a forest floor for Hawthorne, complete with moss, leaves, branches and lichen. I think he likes it.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Hawthorne is really enjoying his new scratching post.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Hawthorne contemplates the forest below.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Sleepy squirrel.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

A little morning playtime before heading out to work.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Dinner with an audience.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

The best squirrel kisses.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Hawthorne’s first walnut.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Little squirrel on a big table eating a blueberry.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Happy Christmas Eve, everybody! Someone got an early present…

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)

Sleepy squirrel.

— Sean P. Whitcomb (@SeanPWhitcomb)