Everyone! @Zarafagiraffe fursuit was sadly robbed :( please retweet!
— President Woofiss (@Woofiss) February 2, 2016
Please contact him if found!
Contact info- pic.twitter.com/bHI3kAos0c
Though this may not be your typical "lost" poster, in many ways it isn't so different from the rest.
An item, or entity — as is often the case, a fluffy one — is missing. And someone, in this instance a person, Zarafa, who identifies as a furry and is missing their suit, is bereaved.
Yes, in a story of community strength and perseverance, the Dogpatch Press, a local source of furry news, writes that one of their own was able to recover a lost outfit or "fursuit" after it was stolen during a car break in. A fursuit, as you might intuit, is an integral part of any furry's identity, if not the source of that identity itself.
Stolen fursuit in the San Francisco area. Purple Giraffe. Please please keep an eye out. Contact us with any info! pic.twitter.com/dQdHrbGIpx
— Made Fur You, INC (@MadeFurYou) January 31, 2016
It happened at DNA lounge during what was supposed to be a celebration — the Frolic party, for which Dogpatch Press interviewed Neonbunny. But while the fun went down at DNA lounge, Zarafa's fursuit and her very fersona (as is the term) was stolen in a car break-in.
The site wasn't too optimistic at first:
If history is a guide, a stolen fursuit doesn’t have good chance to be found. Nobody who’d wear one would steal one, knowing how conspicuous that is. It’s like stealing famous unfenceable art. Nobody who’d steal one would know a use for it. Dumping it is the most likely scenario.Luckily, the SF Bay Area Furry scene has very dedicated movers to make things happen - none more than Neonbunny, promoter of Frolic. Neon both put on the party AND put in search hours (with Frolic team member Skibit) to post flyers across the neighborhood.
Giraffe update: Zarafa recieved a text around 5 pm tonight, but he was stuck up in Santa Rosa at work until late, so...
Posted by Neonbunny Lapine on Wednesday, February 3, 2016
I sent out a tweet about this terrible turn of events, and then the inundation began. Hundreds and hundreds of messages, words of support, offers of help. I got messages from all over the world: Greece, Ireland, Mexico, Japan, England. If there was a silver lining to this whole thing, it was realizing just how wonderful this community, this fandom, really is. I was overwhelmed by an outpouring of love. I will never forget it, as long as I live.