I have been in some situation like this:
1. I have collected a nifty friend: perhaps a fine mole
2. My inventory is burdened with treasures
3. Debate which items to throw to the ground
4. Discard my newly gotten foraged flowers and birds
5. Return to the homestead, to unload all that remains of my voyage
6. I would like to bring my nifty friend with me on my next adventure, in to my mines.
7. I must sacrifice some bars of metal, or nuggets of tin to fit him in my sack
8. I would then reach an early end to my journey, sooner.
9. I put the friend away, and promise to bring him to the next expedition instead.
10. The mole never descends below.
I may be the only one, but I have always believed in bringing a friend along with me to the mines. I used to carry a high quality rat for luck, but I've since started carrying my favorite moles and turtles. I would really like there to be an option for us to carry smaller living or dead animals in a pack, that we can put in our belts or equip on our bodies, to not only facilitate the "I'm carrying 20 chickens" lifestyle, but also allow us to bring our friends with us to our labor.
Perhaps this will come in further clutch with the "Rat Catcher" credo implementation.