Ground Hog in daddy's garden! HELP!?

[Laurie Nd]

im a teen, dad is on a bussiness trip and asked me to water his garden. Pretty simple. But today as I was watering i heard something behind me and figured it was a squirrel or something in the woods in the back of me. But as I got closer 20ft away I saw a BEAVER LOOKING THING! I freaked out screamed and ran inside. Then I asked myself, what is a beaver doing in the southeast? We live in a suburban community with a creek/woods in the backyard. My mom said it was a squirell. NO WAY! IT WAS HUGE! i figured it was a groundhog and it came early in september. its just were from the north, and ive never seen those things! my dad asked me to pick the okra and tomatoes (those are like his kids now) but i didnt have the guts to do it! i cant wait until he comes next week because those little devils will eat them while im at school and my dad will put the blame on me! is there anyway i can keep them out because some things are not ready to be picked, i dont want to hurt them, but my dad wants to kill them.