Meet The British Student Who Lives Double Life as a Furry Dog

By Liana Jacob

MEET the British student who lives a double life masquerading as a DOG.

The quirky photographs show a Luxembourg City student, Jess (17) or ‘Rainy Chaos’ as she as known in her dog-persona, whose family is originally from Manchester, in various positions; poking her head from the back of a car, casually lounging on a bench in front of flowers and a close-up selfie of her looking unamused.

Other pictures show the contrast between her alter ego personality alongside pictures of her looking like a typical British girl-next-door.

From an early age, Jess has always been interested in the arts and creating costumes. One day when she was only 11 years old, she decided to search for animal costumes on YouTube, when a fur suit designer popped up.

She became instantly fascinated by the ‘furry’ community, a fandom created around the idea of anthropomorphism: the attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to an animal.

She now owns four completed suits, one of which is Rainy Chaos, a customised suit that she has designed herself, and she says that it has costed her nearly 917 pounds (1000 euros), including the materials it took to make her other identity.

“I was super fascinated by these costumes which were much better than the average animal costume I found in fancy dress shops,” Jess said.

“I immediately fell in love with these costumes, so I decided to do a bit more research and eventually found the furry fandom world.

“The fandom focuses mostly on art; but it’s mostly known for the fur suits, which people wear at events and conventions.

“I’ve always loved making small skits and videos from the day I got my first camera, so when I got my first suit, I decided to make small videos with my fur suit instead and post them online.

“My first few videos didn’t get much attention, but over the years, my channel slowly grew and grew. I made my Instagram a place to easily post all my fur suit pictures, so that people can always see what I’m up to.”

While Jess appears to be settling into the community very well, she still has moments when she finds herself too shy to wear her costume in public.

But that hasn’t stopped her attending conventions and events.

“Most of the pictures are taken at events or conventions, since I’m still way too shy to wear my costume in public,” she said.

“When wearing a big fluffy dog costume, people tend to take pictures, which is the only reason I have any pictures of my suit at all.

“I currently own four completed suits and many more which aren’t completed yet, including pieces like tails, paws, feet etc.

“Being a furry is simply a hobby but it has changed my life by introducing me to so many new friends and helping me be more creative.

“Some people see the furry fandom as a lifestyle and surround themselves with everything furry, but for me, I like to keep my furry life and real-life separate.

“’Furries’ are some of the kindest and most open people you’ll meet; the community is so accepting of everyone, no matter what age, gender or ethnicity they are. There’s something for everyone.”

Despite the warm welcome Jess receives from the furry fandom world, Jess says that it’s not for everyone and not everyone responds well to the idea.

“Not everyone has to like ‘furries’. It’s definitely quite weird to walk around events in a giant dog costume, but despite the intense hear in the costumes – it’s a whole lot of fun,” she said.

“When I go out to events in my costumes, there are either people who smile at me or people who just ignore me.

“Granted, it’s not for everyone, but some people do enjoy seeing the costumes. Some people come up to me, give me a hug and ask for a picture. Seeing people smile when they see the costume really makes me happy and makes it all worthwhile.

“Kids especially love the costumes, it’s not every day you see a giant pink dog. They often interact with me and give me a high five or a hug.”

For more information visit: https://www.instagram.com/rainyote/