Container catastrophe

I came out the door on my way to work this morning, five minutes late, only to discover that someone or something had totally decimated the container planting next to the front door. Plants lay all over the porch and those that had managed to hang on by their roots were covered in soil from the huge holes dug throughout the urn.

Needless to say, I was not a happy camper.

I tucked everything back into place and watered it in well, but really, I'm not holding out much hope. One plant in particular, a sweet potato vine, literally had every speck of soil removed from its roots.

Now 20 minutes late for work, I was ready to shoot any critter that crossed my path on the way to the car - guilty or not. Fortunately, I saw none. (OK, I don't really carry a gun in my girdle, but I might start.)

I've never had this problem before, so I'm flabbergasted. What would do this? The planter's about two feet tall. Would it be a squirrel?

I did see a ground squirrel recently. That's a new addition to the garden. I had one about 15 years ago that dug up several in-ground plantings, but my husband and I eventually managed to transported him out of the area under a witness protection plan. (ie: He was witness to some pretty bizarre behavior on the part of my husband and me. Let's just say it involved a downspout, a paper bag and a wild car ride to freedom.)