A woman and her Bernese mountain dog became the unwitting stars of a furry convention this weekend after the woman mistook the gathering as an event for pets.
Cheryl Wassus of Monroe, Michigan, is a volunteer with Pets for Vets, a nonprofit that matches therapy dogs with military veterans. When Wassus learned that Motor City Furry Con in Novi, Michigan, was raising money for the organization, she assumed it must be a pet-themed convention.
It was a reasonable mistake. For those unaware, furries are people who enjoy dressing up in anthropomorphic animal costumes and role-playing. Thatâs not what Wassus or Link â who has training as a therapy dog â expected.
Wassusâ son, New York Media producer Kenny Wassus, tweeted some incredible photos of the mix-up on Saturday.
âThis is just a whole subculture I wasnât even aware existed,â Cheryl Wassus told New York magazine. âWhen we set up tables and do promos and educate the public and do outreach, I had no idea the outreach was going to be other human ⊠furry people. I guess youâre never too old to learn.â (Read her full interview with NYMag, which is amazing, here.)
Wassus told Cosmopolitan that the conventionâs organizers had invited her to do a presentation about Pets for Vets, and that it just never became clear what a âfurry conâ was.
âI usually try to do some research the night before I go to these events but the website was pretty obscure,â she said.
But the surprise worked out for the best. Wassus, Link and the furries got along famously. Link was a little confused at first, Wassus said, and did some âserious tail-sniffingâ at the sight of all the two-legged animals. But it all ended up being no big deal.
âThey werenât offended, though. They just embraced him,â she told NYMag. âIt was all good. Just a real interested community.â
Plus, the event was a big win for Pets for Vets â Motor City Furry Con raised $10,000 for the group.
The media tends to associate being a furry with a sexual fetish, but most furry fans say itâs really not about that.
âIn reality, furries are fans of a concept: âWhat if intelligent animals lived among us, or replaced us?ââ Laurence Parry, editor-in-chief of furry-centric news site Flayrah, told The Huffington Post in 2014. âFrom this, all else flows â art, crafts, stories, role-playing and costuming.â