On May 1, 16-year-old Kiera Inman left home in Spokane, Washington to meet 30-year-old Zachary Jones, known as Kelo on Fur Affinity, where Inman's grandmother believes they met.

The two were found at a rest stop in Columbus, Ohio, where Jones was arrested and charged with first-degree kidnapping, a federal law punishable by "not less than 20 years of imprisonment" when a minor is the victim. Kelo's Fur Affinity account has been suspended; he also has accounts on Inkbunny, Weasyl and SoFurry.

Inman, whose grandparents describe her as "developmentally delayed", was said to have been groomed online by Jones for several weeks according to entries in her diary, and she left a note reading, "by the time you read this I'm gone...or dead".

On tour now is Imago Theatre's ZooZoo, a production chock full of anthropomorphic animal costumes.

ZooZoo is a 55-minute performance comprised of a series of short, silent theatre pieces, each from four to seven minutes in length. The cast of five play animals ranging from fireflies to hippos, in skits that include penguins playing musical chairs, and anteaters dressed as waiters. As the promotional video shows, there is quite a bit of audience interaction:

Having completed most of their tour already, the production appears in Ithaca, New York on Friday, April 12, and then moves on to Cleveland, Ohio (May 7-11) and St. Albert, Alberta (May 28-June 1).

Kon'nichiwa, bonjour, hola, and hello from all of us here at Morphicon, as we plan to welcome you to our tiny slice of the world here in Columbus, Ohio. 2013 is quickly approaching us and in less than a year we wish to welcome you to a small con with a global reach.

Morphicon plans to introduce you to furry cultures from all over our wonderful planet, so please join us and our Guests of Honor P.Moss and Ebony Leopard May 2–5 as we welcome you into our own little multicultural salad bowl; as long as some herbivores don't nom it first!

This month saw several furry appearances in North American news media, with coverage from newspapers, magazines, and a Canadian TV news outlet. What did they have to say?

While L Magazine's brief (and largely paraphrased) interview with New York City furry writer and artist Joe Strike veers towards adult babies and "mascot costumes getting sweaty", the conversation eventually gets around to "the core of furrydom—the fursona", with Joe distinguishing furs from other fans: "furs create their own characters". Anthrocon gets a mention, while Joe puts in recommendations for WikiFur and Fur Affinity.

VancouFur gained a fair amount of coverage. As previously mentioned, the Burnaby News Leader gave a positive but relatively shallow article on "people who like to dress in colourful, furry mascot costumes," published before the event began, while CTV had video footage (Pixie: "It frees up a lot of inhibitions, like I don't feel so constrained or shy - I'm allowed to be a little more outgoing - because it's not me, it's the character.").

Conversely, BG News (the student paper of Bowling Green State University) talks to several north-west Ohio furs, who refute the assertions made by Burnaby News ("Fur suits aren’t even really required."). The local Black Swamp Furs talk about their bowling escapades, while slipping in FCN's charity fund-raising. Sex comes up, but the furs hang firm to their position ("We’re not sex based at all. [..] TV shows sometimes show us like that, but we’re not. It’s the complete opposite of what we’re trying to do. We’re just people who like to hang out.")

A more detailed analysis of VancouFur, and of furry fandom as a whole, is provided by The Dependent Magazine [tip: reddit], whose representatives are first "grilled" by con media representatives, then mobbed by furs wanting to tell their story.

On Wednesday morning, Peter Bower (known in the furry community as Krypto1701) stood before Shelby Municipal Court on a charge of animal cruelty. This stemmed from the discovery that he had had sexual relations with a three-year-old shepherd-mix dog.

Bower's attorney, Gordon Eyster, entered a no contest plea on behalf of his client, and Judge Jon Schaefer found him guilty of the first-degree misdemeanor. He then sentenced Bower to 80 days of community service and two years of probation, as well as a $500 fine.

Judge Schaefer prohibited Bower from owning any animals, ordering him to undergo a sexual evaluation and take sex addiction classes. Opting against imprisonment, he said, "I believe you have a very severe problem. My first impulse is jail time, but jail will not help you."

Richland County Humane Society agent Missy Houghton and Richland County Dog Warden Dave Jordan expressed satisfaction with the outcome.

Terry Thompson, released from prison a few weeks ago on gun possession charges and still under house arrest, released his 56 exotic pets into the wilds of Ohio before killing himself. The irresponsible action of the owner resulted in the death of 49 animals; a monkey remains on the lam, while the other six were captured and are to be placed into local zoos.

The final count of animal life taken was six black bears, two grizzly bears, nine male lions, eight lionesses, one baboon, three mountain lions, 18 tigers and two wolves.

Ohio furs Brown Leopard (Ronald R. Packer II, 33), his wife, Wolfie Stonespirit (Jennifer Packer, 30) and Keba (Joseph O. Luna, 21) were arrested July 14 after exiting a barn around 3AM. The trio were charged with breaking and entering and receiving stolen property.

Marion County police recovered a large amount of stolen property from their home and estimate they have committed over sixty thefts in the area. Brown Leopard is also wanted in West Virginia for failure to appear on a weapons offense.

A day later, Sibe (Ross Herbert Reddick, 31) was booked into Clackamas County Jail, charged with third degree sexual abuse, recklessly endangering another person, contributing to the sexual delinquency of a minor, endangering the welfare of a minor and sexual misconduct.

Two more counts of animal cruelty have been added to the charges already faced by Peter Bower, known in the furry fandom as Krypto1701.

In May, Bower was charged with two counts of animal cruelty after authorities discovered that he had had sexual relations with his three-year-old shepherd-mix dog, Aurora. New evidence suggests sexual activity with a previous pet, a German shepherd named Maggie.

Morphicon, Ohio's furry convention, has opened early registration on its new website.

Those registering before March 1 save $10 on Basic, Sponsor, and Patron donor levels. Early registration is the only way to register as a Hypertrophe. Extra funds could be used to support Morphicon's charity, Ferrets Unlimited Rescue Services.

As is traditional, Morphicon also seeks the most awesome design possible to adorn its t-shirts. Voting on designs begins February 21.

Fusion Magazine, published by Kent State University students for the LGBTQ community, has based its latest issue on furries.

The coverage begins with a six-page profile of the fandom featuring Robby Conte (Robbyfox) and other NE Ohio furs.

Robbyfox describes his introduction to the fandom, his trip to Anthrocon 2010, and favourably compares furry fandom to the gay community, which he describes as 'more intimidating'.

The article then gives an overview of fursuiting and a dismissive mention of Vanity Fair, before diving into quotes from sociological researcher Dr. Kathy Gerbasi, a description of a local furmeet and a sub-interview with ObliviousAlly.

Hard hats not required but please mind your step. The Morphicon website is currently being redesigned to reflect next year's theme: Furries in Wonderland. Content will be added as it progresses so keep an eye or ear to here or on Twitter for any new announcements.

To help tide you over until the new site is up, we are pleased to announce the latest Morphicon newsletter (finally!). We welcome your feedback and input for next issue. Please feel free to send ideas/comments to publicity[at]morphicon.org!