Could be a silver sow racoon.
Here is some pic's of a few animals, have your Dad take a look at these.
Hope this helps...
images.google.com...://bailey.aros.net/nature/images/Raccoon%2520small.jpg&imgrefurl=http://bailey.aros.net/nature/Mammals.htm&
h=640&w=558&sz=60&hl=en&start=8&tbnid=MOwH89NYNrbR8M:&tbnh=135&tbnw=117&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSilver%2Braccoon%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D