Sorry to disagree with you, Linda. I know about "foo dogs" (which are actually a Chinese representation of _lions_) but a) this carving doesn't have any of the Chinese style of carving that westerners call a "foo dog" and b) none of the other carving on the chair looks remotely Asian, so why would there be this aberrant animal?

This is NOT a ferret; it is indeed a mink, but not a wild mink. This is a ranched mink with a color mutation bred on fur farms, so this animal was either an escapee from a fur farm, or was intentionally released by Animal Rights activists. Ranched mink lack survival skills to exist in the wild, and have been dependent upon human care for their entire lives, so this mink is seeking out the only source of food it knows-humans. It will not survive on its own, and while misguided and ignorant activists believe that they are "helping" fur farm animals by "liberating" them(as they ultimately want to "liberate" ALL animals, your dogs and cats included), they are in fact condemning most of these animals to a slow, painful death by starvation. NOTE: just because this mink is the product of many, many generations of captive selective breeding, this does NOT mean it is docile and tame! Ranched mink are still very prone to biting viciously. They can and will inflict serious injuries to dogs or other pets that mess with them or anyone who tries to handle them. Check around and find any fur farms in your area and find out if any have experienced recent break-ins and vandalism, including releases of animals, and you will most likely find where this mink, which I believe is a "Pastel" variety, came from.

Are you serious? If so, you'll need to provide some sort of reasonable description.

Thank you. That confirms the conclusion my friend came to after her cat caught a mouse and brought it in the house.