Epstein Files: Mysterious Fur Ball Stuffed Inside Trash Bag

As we all impatiently wait for the next batch of the Epstein files to drop, a mystery has surfaced from the old batch ... a very puzzling, four-legged (we think) mystery.

Check out this bizarre photo of what appears to be a shaggy pooch stuffed, or sitting, in a garbage bag ... which was placed inside a cardboard box.

The pic was buried inside a mountain of documents and visual footage released last month by the Department of Justice as part of the now-stalled rollout of the Epstein files.

The snapshot was overshadowed by all the attention on pics of famous people like Bill Clinton, Chris Tucker and Mick Jagger, but we dug it up for you now.

So, what the hell is going on here? While it certainly looks like a dog, the fluff ball could be some other type of animal, a stuffed toy, or ... taxidermy.

Also, what's its connection to Epstein? There must be one because it's in the files.

The unsatisfying answer is nobody seems to know ... yet. We spoke to Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, who's on the House Oversight Committee ... which, last month, successfully subpoena'd Epstein's estate to release a separate batch of documents.

He says he's never been given any context for the furry photo, or any other Epstein images that have come to light. Subramanyam tells us it looks like a dog, but he's unsure if it's dead or sleeping on the trash bag.

Now, there is this one clue -- a 2003 Vanity Fair article describes a "stuffed black poodle" Epstein had on top of a grand piano in his NYC townhouse.

We did find a photo resembling that pooch in the files -- but it doesn't seem to be the same dog in the mystery pic.