Dogpatch Press

August 23, 2025

Phoenix Bark is New York’s biggest Furry Bar event yet

by Dogpatch Press Staff

Guest post by Kameno -O.

Attendees gather together to hug in Phoenix Bark. Photo Credit: Eberrawolf

NYFurs hosted the first ever Phoenix Bark at the Phoenix Bar

NYC’s furry community continues to grow this year as it hosted its first ever Phoenix Bark event on August 16th.

Hosted by NYFurs, the event was made with the goal to bring furry culture and community in New York City, a city that, compared to other parts of the United States, hasn’t had an established furry scene until this year. To cater to the growing community, Phoenix Bark marketed itself on NYFurs website by claiming “Phoenix Bark isn’t just a bar night, it’s New York City’s furry takeover.”

Phoenix Bark was different from usual furry events hosted in New York City, as this event took place in Phoenix Bar in Manhattan’s East Village, known for its LGBTQ nightlife. Other events they have held such as NYCFurwalks or Round1 furs were for all ages and took place earlier, but Phoenix Bark was a 21+ event that took place late into the evening.

For many in New York City’s furry community, this was a different experience from what they are used to. This rang true for NYFurs’ founder Gamboiuwu, who was in charge of coordinating the event with the bar.

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August 16, 2025

Help! I’m being impersonated by someone who stole my fursona and refuses to stop.

by Patch O'Furr

Hi, I’m Sierra, a furry in Norway, and I’m experiencing harassment that might be familiar to a lot of people online.

In 2020, I created an original fursona and commissioned art for it. I put years of effort into a character that is special and personal to me. A fursona like mine is one of the things that defines what furries are, so what happened next was not just upsetting to me, I think it goes against what our community is for.

In April 2025, I discovered that a stranger was inexplicably using the fursona I created to impersonate me. Call it… imfursonation? They were stealing the identity I had been building for years, at the cost of my money, passion, friendships, and personal integrity. I did nothing to provoke this creepy wrongdoing and only found out by surprise.

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August 14, 2025

A review of “A Town Called Collegeville: A Horror-Tragedy”

by Dogpatch Press Staff

Furry art beyond figure drawing

264 pages, softcover, available for US$35 from the Collegeville store

Review by Jack Newhorse (Tom Geller) of a graphic novel by TUVVIN (Clyde Kopernik, who granted permission to use all graphics provided.)

Source: Page 133

I’ve been looking forward to the first graphic novel of Clyde Kopernik (“TUVVIN”) since a 2021 interview on the Furreal podcast. The “talk show all about furry content creators” featured thumbnails of the host and guest, drawn (I assume) by the guests themselves.

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August 8, 2025

Two years of anti-zoophile community moderation: Heika’s work with Laelaps on Bluesky

by Patch O'Furr

Founder heikadog

In Greek mythology, Laelaps is a dog that never fails to catch what it is hunting.

On Bluesky, tens of thousands of users use the Laelaps anti-zoophile labeler. This volunteer-run project collects evidence of animal abusers and enablers, publishes a list, and shows a label on listed accounts so you’re informed before interacting. A labeler utilizes third-party moderation service, hooked up to Bluesky features that help you choose how to use the platform. It lets you actively curate rather than passively consume what you’re fed.

This is their second anniversary of launching a list, their first anniversary of integrating third-party labeler service, and now the public evidence is just reorganized with its sub-categories for refined use. You can support it with ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/laelapsfyi

Laelaps started with a small team of furries and now reaches people from all walks of life. It sets a standard for community moderation that any group can follow. Founder heikadog (aka Heika, they/them) was interviewed by Dogpatch Press about the mission, methods, history, and impact of the internet’s most successful project in its niche. They say furries run the internet, and here’s more proof.

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July 9, 2025

Preview The Furry Detectives docuseries, and learn how reporting emerged against backlash

by Patch O'Furr

Full series out July 17. The first 12 minutes of the first episode:

The Furry Detectives docuseries — The story they don’t want told, emerging against 7 years of backlash and interference.

Coming on AMC+: this 4-episode series introduces furries who investigated the 2018 zoosadist leaks. (More summary of the leaks.)

The leaks exposed evidence of deep-rooted, ongoing animal abuse networks in the community. They use furry as a cover, for organizing that isn’t easily dismissed with “anyone can be a furry, we can’t gatekeep it” disclaimers. Half of the truth is that abuse happens in any community — and internet tech and platforms are big factors not fully in our power — but the whole truth is that this behavior is uniquely among us in real-life organized ways seen nowhere else. It’s nobody else’s problem when our groups are run by and for us.

Making our own destiny is how fandom works at its best. However before the show releases, it’s catching some backlash for airing problems that the community didn’t properly deal with for 7 years. It’s like some people want things brushed under the rug so ignoring it can make it worse. That behavior was always holding back investigation over 7 years while publishing tens of thousands of words of reporting at Dogpatch Press.

There was a lot of generous team work as well, but some of the most counterproductive behavior was not just from incuriosity and denialism, putting optics over solutions, or random bad actors… Most alarmingly, there’s also corruption from influence at the top.

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July 5, 2025

Newsdump: Room Party art show during Anthrocon, furries on NPR, public image in the media

by Patch O'Furr

Happening now: Anthrocon and Room Party show at Bunker Projects, 5106 Penn Ave, Pittsburgh

Anthrocon has competitors for the world’s biggest furry convention, but is unsurpassed in other ways. Their street parade is a wonder of the furry world, uniquely partnered with Pittsburgh and swarmed by cheering residents on a blocked off city street.

Fursuiters make public image by flaunting millions in art at such events, but it’s also about the artists. They’re enjoying how Pittsburgh welcomes furries like nowhere else, with their own art show at a gallery apart from the con.

SEE ROOM PARTY: http://room-party.com. The show has a 6-week run with film screenings, workshops, and informal art-making gatherings. Curators include Brett Hanover (previously in furry news with his movie Rukus.) Brett sent info:

Room Party is the first-ever large-scale group exhibition of contemporary and experimental furry art, featuring over 50 artists working in drawing and painting, comics, photography, installation, video, and new media. Curated by furry artists Lane Lincecum, Brett Hanover, Cass Dickenson, and Paul Peng, Room Party takes its name from the unofficial hotel room parties held during conventions—embodied virtual realities where furries try on unimagined identities, invent new sexualities and artistic expressions, and discover alternative ways of being known. Room Party brings the love and creativity of these events to Pittsburgh’s Bunker Projects, putting furry artists in conversation with the fine art world, the broader queer community, and the contemporary moment.

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May 28, 2025

Zeldstarro’s furry event maps – A tool for travel planning and learning about history

by Dogpatch Press Staff

A need for better info about geography and accessibility

Good day (or night) everyone, I am Zeldstarro, a semi-furred dragon that really likes geography and travel. I have made a map of furry conventions which can be found here, and a map of other large furry events which can be found here. You can also follow my project on Bluesky, Fur Con Watch.

I made these maps not just to help other furries find conventions, but also because I had a special interest in transit accessibility. I believe that a good public transit system is an incredibly beneficial thing for any city it’s in, and for the world as a whole. So, I wanted to find one place to compare the locations of furry convention venues with their current transit accessibility (and walkability).

The most easily accessible source I found was a map on Wikifur. Disappointingly, this map was (and is) unreliable. It sometimes lists out-of-date venues and other inaccurate information, and includes events that aren’t conventions and don’t fit my purpose. This led to starting my own solution.

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May 16, 2025

Furgeddaboutit 2025 con report: “Controlled burn” cooks up unprecedented results in New Jersey

by Dogpatch Press Staff

GUEST POST: Eberra Wolf (sounds like “a-BEAR-uh”) is an independent reporter from New York City, and focuses on the northeastern United States. He has been a furry since December 2022. Eberra is using community access to submit news as an on-the-scene correspondent – you can submit news here.

Furries playing outside in the courtyard of the Mount Laurel, N.J., DoubleTree on Saturday. (Eberra Wolf for Dogpatch Press.)

Furgeddaboutit had its inaugural convention over the weekend of May 2-4 in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. Created in reaction to Garden State Fur the Weekend, another New Jersey convention, it was held on the same weekend 47 miles southwest, about 50 minutes away by car.

By the end of both cons, comparison of the respective results would make an example for the global fandom to remember.

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April 22, 2025

The Furry Detectives: Unmasking a Monster – TV docuseries investigates the 2018 Zoosadist leaks

by Patch O'Furr

Furry True Crime is a genre

In 2024, the Fur and Loathing podcast came out with Guardian journalist Nicky Woolf and Dogpatch Press. The show investigated the Midwest Furfest 2014 chemical attack, based on previously unseen FBI documents and interviews across 4 states. Apple Podcasts gives it a 4.5 star rating, and it has 4.8 from critics, who call it “made with deep reverence and contribution from maligned, largely disenfranchised communities… I think Fur and Loathing is pretty much exactly what I want in true crime.” – Podcast Promise.

Those are results to keep in mind when expecting another Furry True Crime show on the way. They make 2 examples of this suddenly-a-genre (and there’s a third one coming later.) Other kinds of documentary may raise less eyebrows, but these examples aren’t fur-sploitation or salacious tragedy porn. Sorry, the mainstream already makes too much trashy stuff for weirdos who aren’t furries, go find it somewhere else…

Here you’ll find intensely curious investigations for smart people who care about problems and solutions. They feature experiences within the community, made with members, using pro resources to tell deeper stories than can be told without their combined forces. Socially responsible true crime media exists, and we’re already in it.

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April 15, 2025

VOTE NOW for the Ursa Major Awards and Good Furry Awards – Deadline soon!

by Patch O'Furr

Ursa art by Foxenawolf.

Ursa Major Awards voting deadline is APRIL 19

The Ursa Major Awards feature the furry fandom’s favorite media published in the past year. Anyone in the community is welcome to vote for movies, short films, series, novels, short fiction, nonfiction, comics, games, websites, magazines, illustrations, music, and more…

You only have until Saturday April 19, so go to the voting page and do it now!

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