Chinese man’s Pomeranian turns out to be a Fox.

 You go on a business trip, and you see some cute puppies for sale. You buy one, thinking it is a Pomeranian. They are chocolate brown in color, which you think is a rare coloration in the Pomeranian dog.

As you raise this puppy, you notice some weird things. It never barks, and if you know any about Pomeranians, they are really vocal barkers. The tail continues to grow, and it never curls over the back in the way that Pomeranians typically carry their tails. The animal also changes color from a brownish color to solid white in winter. It also has a pervasive stench that even a regular bath cannot control.

Then you take the animal to the zoo, and the specialists there tell you that you don’t have a dog. The person who sold you this Pomeranian has sold you an Arctic fox.

  The fox now resides at the zoo, where, we hope, he will remain as an exhibit animal. However, the Arctic fox is raised for its fur, and China is a major fur producer. It is very possible that unscrupulous dog dealers are seling fur farmed animals as pets, because the market economy has opened up a new market for companion animals. The same sorts of scams existed in the early days of our dog fancy (and still do!). One of the earliest scams in Britain was selling docked curly-coated retrievers as standard poodles!

The pervasive stench that the “dog” gave off comes from the fox’s “violet gland” or precaudal gland. Domestic dogs have this gland, but it is inactive.   

Some dogs develop bald spots over this gland, while others, especially yellow Labradors, develop dark hairs around it. Here’s a page on the curly-coated retrievers that have a bald spot around that gland.