Woman Takes Dog To 'Furry' Convention, Doesn't Realize It's Not For Dogs
This may be a bit too telling of myself, but I used to be pretty big into anime. No, this isn't a furry coming out story.
(Besides, I'm pretty sure all furries start off thinking Disney's "Robin Hood" was hot.)
My brother and I were watching our VHS boxset of "Outlaw Star" and in one episode, a very documentary-sounding voice explained the "great space race," which started after scientists in Northern China found "dragonite" on an asteroid that landed on Earth, which they used to enter space.
My mother sat down on the couch with us and said,
I never knew this...
As soon as she did, the very loud Japanese theme song kicked on and she was embarrassed.
Basically, what I'm saying is, moms are adorable, and we need to protect them at all costs.
Cheryl Wassus, a retired state parole officer and part-time dog trainer, often volunteers her 1-year-old therapy Bernese mountain dog Link for Pets for Vets.
She also had no idea what a furry was.
A "furry" is a member of the furry fandom, which is interested in fictional anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities. This is done either for fun or for sex stuff.
Her son Kenny Wassus, a senior producer for original video at New York Mag, took delight in this as only a good son would.
Cheryl and Link went to a Sheraton Hotel in Novi, Michigan hoping to raise money for the charity that provides canine companionship for veterans and to offer some cuddles to people attending "Furrycon."
To be fair, ask your mom what she thinks would happen at "Furrycon." I'd ask my mom right now, but she has no cell service at her house, and she can't figure out why her iMessage isn't working.
Cheryl told New York Magazine the organization chose them as their charity -- Furries normally raise money for great animal-related causes -- but she didn't get a chance to do research before her presentation.
She told Cosmo,
I usually try to do some research the night before I go to these events, but the website was pretty obscure. It had links and information on how to register, but no pictures. So, I just assumed it was a regular business convention of some sort.
Imagine entering a hotel lobby only to see everyone dressed up like that one weird scene from "The Shining."
Cheryl sent her son some texts and he explained that, hey, surprise mom! You're hanging out with a fetish community!
After the shock, Cheryl got over it and so did Link. After all, as long as someone isn't hurting another person, who cares what they're into, right?
Cheryl said about Link,
His eyes got bigger and bigger as we walked through the convention. He's not used to seeing people with tails so he was very intrigued. He kept sniffing them under their tails, and I kept apologizing, but everyone was very nice about it.
Cheryl said,
I talked to one of the mothers whose son was a furry, and she talked about how a lot of these young people don't feel comfortable in their own skin, but then they put on these costumes and they're transformed.
On top of that, the Furry Convention raised $10,000 for Pets for Vets.
Meanwhile, Kenny described the great dream of everyone who works for the internet ...
Citations: An Unsuspecting Mom Took Her Dog to A "Furry" Convention Thinking It Was An Event for Pets (Cosmopolitan)
