In an unusual incident, on Tuesday, around 1,000 individuals who self-identify as canines convened at Germany's Berlin Potsdamer Platz railway station for a meetup. The event met with mixed reactions online, with some people expressing support and curiosity, while others mocked and criticised the participants.
In the viral video of the meetup, attendees were seen communicating by barking and whistling towards each other.
Watch the video here:
"Problems with an over-desire to flaunt genders, orientations, personalities, etc. Just be natural and identify yourself as a human; it's more than enough," commented a user.
"Call animal control and give them their rabies doses," wrote a user.
"But if they identify as dogs, why do they put on masks?," asked a third user.
This unconventional canine gathering comes in the wake of the viral fame of Toco, a human in Japan who, after acquiring a hyper-realistic suit worth $14,000, is now living out his lifelong aspiration of becoming a dog.
According to the New York Post, experts have called for a differentiation between "therians," people who "identify as a creature other than human," and "furries," individuals who enjoy cosplaying in animal suits."
For example, some therians, short for "therianthrope," might "believe that they are a cat soul reincarnated into a human body," Dr. Elizabeth Fein, an associate professor of psychology at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, previously told The Post.
"Some furries are therians, and some therians are furries, but they are two distinct groups," she noted.
