Cheburashka is a human, only partly crossed over.
The critter has the proportions, the round head, and the triangle nose of an Animal Crossing player character, stuck halfway through a Forced Transformation. Why am I thinking of The Terrible Secret of Animal Crossing right now?Alternatively, and less nightmarishly, an AC character who wears a fursuit to try to fit in with neighbors. A connection with AC would go some way toward explaining how "house for friends" was built so fast; see WMG.Animal Crossing.
