March 2020 Creature Feature - Two Body Problem!

The pet play lifestyle is full of so many voices that make it unique and vibrant. To showcase this, every month we will be shining the spotlight on a particular human animal or Handler in our community. Let's hear what makes every pet player special!

This March, we're shining the spotlight on a truly incredible wolf. She's a recurring volunteer who helps make our events happen, one of the friendliest faces for new attendees, fierce and loyal to her core...

TWO BODY PROBLEM!

Please introduce yourself and how you identify in pet play!

Hello to all the kinky cuties reading this! I am very humbled to have been asked to share my experience with you all, and I hope peering into my evolution can help new animals exploring their own identities.

My Fetlife name is TwoBodyProblem, and I identify as Primal/She Wolf! I have been involved in the BDSM community for 6 years, and being a wolf is a pervasive part of my personality and identity.

I am playful, fierce, stubborn, loyal, guarded, protective, loving and at times, a tad aggressive. I started off identifying as Primal almost immediately when I entered the scene, and settled on wolf soon after. However, it would be 5 years before I actually began engaging in pet play.

How did you first get into pet play?

I can see traits of my identity emerge throughout my youth. Growing up I would pretend to be one of the Lions from Lion King, and adored the movie Brother Bear. When we got our dogs I would get on the ground and romp around with them, I loved their energy and always wanted to be around it. When I was little one of my first crushes would play “horse” with me. However my idea of playing consisted of punching him and running away, so much so that he received bruises and I got in trouble with the teacher and principal. Their resolution was to give us a playdate to 'make us friends', which is just rewarding me for bad behavior! (Don't worry, I stopped hurting him!)

This has always been a part of me, and when I first entered the scene, I realized my personality aligned with a wolf and fit in neatly with my primal identity. I had a tail and ears, and a few years later was given a muzzle and paws for my birthday. Despite this, I still thought it was extremely bizarre, awkward, and shameful for an adult to behave like an animal. I could not get comfortable with the idea of barking, growling, or physically acting like a wolf, and would cringe if I tried. I was trying to spark a fire that refused to ignite. There was never a pet play space in the communities I was involved in, and if there was, it was not inclusive to womxn.

Eventually, I knew it was time for me to cross that boundary I placed in front my myself.

After a few years of being away, I came back to Los Angeles. I attended the SoCal Creatures mosh and was wonderfully overwhelmed with the amount of diversity, inclusivity and welcoming spirit. Titus was the first animal I spoke to. He made me feel like I belonged and I had finally found the space for me. For the first time I felt confident enough to leave my comfort zone and actually bark. That night I was emotionally and physically exhausted, and my aftercare consisted of excessive crying in the shower. I realized how unbelievably fortunate I am to have such a fantastic group of people and animals in my home city.

What are your favorite activities as a wolf?

I love wrestling, playing with my duck, rabbit, and hedgehog toys (kill the prey!), tug of war with rope, crawling/chasing/capturing other animals, butt touches, barking/growling/yipping at humans, snuggles, and observing others play. My headspace is also sexual, so more intimate activities are also included.

I also LOVE car rides, hiking, and going to the pet store and spoiling myself with toys.

What puts your into your wolf headspace?

At first, I needed my muzzle, paws, ears, and tail to enter my headspace, and even then I would have to be surrounded by other animals to feel comfortable. Now, about a year later, just being in the same room with another animal playfully growling/barking/meowing at me will make me slip into my headspace. This is a problem at times because Threshold business meetings and SoCal Creatures mosh set up requires me to think like a human!

I love my leather hood, which was a custom by ChillisWoofStuff. It is a face that was once buried, finally showing itself. It is both an extension of myself and a comforting barrier between the world and my active headspace. Putting it on for the first time was extremely validating, and I felt like I was in my complete form.

What advice do you have for other non-male identifying pet players looking to get into the community?

I first tried entering mostly cis-gay men pup spaces, and it made me feel like I was an imposter and not wanted. (To be fair, it is not my space.) I was lucky and found SoCal Creatures. However, I am now moving to a new city due to work, and will be adhering to the following advice.

If there is a pet event you would like to attend, reach out to the event organizers and tell them you are new and (politely and respectfully!) ask if the space is inclusive of your identity. It’s okay if its not; there are spaces for everyone :)

Make friends with other animals in the kink community and attend events together. That way you will feel less intimidated and more comfortable entering spaces that may make you feel out of place. This can be accomplished by attending munches or events, and if you see a pet approach them! (Of course make sure they are not in a scene, and ask the handler if its okay to interact with them.) You can also look for connections on Fetlife, Instagram, Twitter, Discord or Kik! I reached out to quite a few pups on Tumblr to ask for online group chats. Start a conversation and say “Hi my name is ___ and I am interested in pet play. I need a little guidance and was wondering if you had any advice?/ I am new to the scene here and was looking to find the pet spaces, do you have any recommendations?” You can also ask known leaders in the BDSM community and they may be able to point you in the right direction.

Note from the Editor: Message Mercy (@thepupmercy on IG and Twitter) to join her Discord chat for female pups!

What do you love most about pet play?

The best part about being an animal is shedding your human inhibitions. Animals show their emotions and are unrestrained by society. Humans are not allowed to growl at someone, not allowed to run up to someone and say “Hey you look cool! Want to play?” But animals... animals don’t care! They don’t understand that, they just act on instinct, and I think that’s beautiful. It’s showing a raw form of myself, one that is vulnerable but strong.

I also love how incredibly supportive and diverse the pet play community is. There is a proactive, communal effort to make everyone feel included and comfortable, which is unheard of in most spaces. I love greeting new faces, since that’s exactly what I needed and received when I first joined. Additionally, handlers and pets will look out not just for their own counterpart, but for others as well. We are all striving to grow as people and animals. Wiley, Vixen and all the team members work hard to ensure SoCal Creature events are welcoming to all identities and experiences (emotional support volunteers!), engaging (themed moshes and raffles!) and accessible for all incomes. SoCal Creatures is unlike any space I’ve ever come across. It is incredibly unique and cultivates a fantastic community, one I am proud to support and be a part of.

Follow this amazing wolf on FetLife (TwoBodyProblem) and Instagram @ttwobodyproblem to keep up with her journey!

February 2020 Creature Feature - Bun Bun!

The pet play lifestyle is full of so many voices that make it unique and vibrant. To showcase this, every month we will be shining the spotlight on a particular human animal or Handler in our community. Let's hear what makes every pet player special!

This February, we're shining the spotlight on a very special bunny. Adorable and oh-so-fancy, we can't wait to learn more about this wonderful pet who's hopped into our hearts...

BUN BUN!!

Please introduce yourself and how you identify in pet play

Hi, I'm BunBun. I'm a boy! I'm a girl! I'm a bunny! I'm a Gender Queer and queer bun, who's been in the kink community for close to two years. In the last year, I recently discovered the fantastic world of pet play, and I've been having a wonderful time exploring it!

I'm a bunny with a ton of different traits. I can be a very playful, adorable, and sexy bunny! I love cuddles, love the compliments and love dressing up. I am a submissive at heart, a bottom, and an exploring bun in the kink world. I'm always learning and exploring the community at hand. I'm a very community-driven person, and I'm at a ton of different events. I'm still somewhat new to the pet play scene, but it has become something that I adore and a part of my identity.

How did you get into pet play? Specifically, how did you discover you're a bunny?

I've been curious about pet play for a while, but I spent my first year in the scene exploring the general LA Kink Scene. I spent some time familiarizing myself with the scene, the people, and exploring kink. It wasn't until recently within the last half of 2019 that I decided to explore the pet play scene and community.

For me, a "bunny" is what I felt best represented me; a reflection of all the things I identify as. More so, I thought that it encompassed my personality. I have a bit of an introvert personality. I'm usually a quiet person and don't really open up until I get to know someone. I can be very sociable, of course, but it's not something that comes naturally. In that sense, I felt that for me, a bunny worked best. I also decided to identify as a bunny due to my personality when it comes to kink. I identify as a submissive, I love being a bottom, and all that encompasses that. For me, in that sense being a pet, a bunny just felt right to me.

The pet play community played a crucial part in my growth as a bunny. I initially discovered my identity as a bunny through my exploration of the general kink community. My curiosity about pet play led me to interact with various pets and critters. I grew as a bunny when I got involved with the events held by SoCal Creatures. Their pet mosh in September 2019 was the first pet play event I had attended, and I just absolutely fell in love with the community. It was such a different energy and environment from any of my previous experiences in dungeons. The energy, the people, and the sense of community is what really brought me home.

What are your favorite toys and treats?

I still consider myself to be a very new bunny in the pet play scene, so I haven't been able to explore much of the pet play staples of toys and treats. Where I have found an interest early on has been the gear and clothing.

I love dressing up! You are likely to see me running around in my bunny outfits at different events. I love exploring my bunny self through my clothing. I have a ton of different pairs of bunny ears and tails for every occasion! I have a variety of different types of outfits on top of that too. I can go from being a classy bunny, to a sexy bun, to even a naughty one, in a hippity hoppity second hehe!

One of my favorite toys/gear is a custom made pair of bunny paws made by a member and a friend of mine in the LA pet scene. It's a set of fur-covered gloves in white and black, with these fun metal claws. They are white and black because in my bunny persona, I am a white and black bunny. I love having my gear as an extension of myself. It is a visual representation to the world that I am a bunny. It helps me communicate myself without the need of having to explain myself. It's a way to express my inner pet, so those around me can understand me, and for myself to get more into that headspace.

How, if at all, do your other kinks/fetishes mesh with your style of pet play?

My kinks and fetishes all intermingle with my pet play. I'm a kinky bunny that's for sure, and my kinks play a crucial part in representing me; In the cliche manner that I can be a rope bunny, a needle bunny, an impact bunny, and so much more. Being a bunny is a vessel of sorts for my kinks. I'm submissive, a masochist, a bottom, and all of that plays a role in my pet play.

Kink is a part of my identity, and it's one of the most crucial things that has allowed me to explore being a bunny in the first place. Kink allowed me to gain the confidence to express myself how I wanted to. My kinks are part of my pet play because my kinks are intermingled with my identity.

What puts you into your pet headspace?

I can get in my bunny headspace through a combination of different things. One of the simplest ways for me to get my pet space is being treated as a pet. For me, that can mean being petted, cuddled, given treats, called a "Good Bunny" or being addressed by my pet name "BunBun." I'm a very affectionate bunny, and having that affection reciprocated as a pet is crucial for me.

Dressing up also contributes to me getting into a pet headspace. I love wearing my ears, tail, and collar. It helps people recognize me as a bunny, and that is really helpful for my headspace when I don't need to explain to people that I'm a bunny, and others automatically recognize me as such. In that sense as well, being surrounded by other pets and critters can also contribute to my headspace. It is always great to meet other pets and critters. It is especially fun being at pet-related events and being surrounded by that atmosphere that gets me into my headspace.

.

What do you love most about pet play?

I love being a pet. One of the things I love about pet play is the energy and dynamic that's associated with pet play. For me, the things that I enjoy come from the fact that I can be something else than my regular human self. I'm able to express myself in ways that I usually don't. That freedom of expression has been such a positive release of energy. It's not something that I've only experience myself, but it's something that I've seen in the community.

The community is fantastic. I've met many other wonderful pets and critters, that's one of those things that I love about pet play are the people. The energy I've encountered has been so positive, fun, and liberating at all the moshes. Every time that I met other pets, there's been some mutual understanding of one another, allowing for the building of a connection. That is something that pulls me in and brings me to love pet play. The energy that not only I feel as a bunny, but that I see other pets experience too!

Follow BunBun on Instagram at @michael.bunbun to keep up with this bunny's hippity-hoppity fun!

Welcome to SoCal Creatures!

We are a family of pet and animal players in Los Angeles with a driving desire to form an inclusive community. We come from all walks of life with a myriad of ethnicities, sexualities, gender presentations, and animal/Handler identifications. We have different styles and enjoy various other kinks, but we have something essential in common: our love for the wild, creative world of pet play.

As you step with us into this exciting world, let's answer some basics.

Our 2019 September mosh at Dungeon East

What is Pet Play?

Pet play is a form of BDSM/kink in which a person, typically in a submissive role, behaves like an animal while another, typically in a Dominant role, acts as the human “Owner,” “Trainer,” or “Handler.”

Because this play typically involves some degree of power exchange, pet play relationships are often structured as a form of D/s. However, play can also occur when 2 or more individuals play as animals with each other, regardless of whether or not a power exchange dynamic (such as Alpha/beta/omega) exists between them.

The most common animals in pet play are pups, kittens, foxes and ponies. However, you can be anything! Wolves, red pandas, bears, raccoons, deers, frogs, lizards, wildcats, hellhounds, birds, dragons, unicorns - the only limit is your imagination.

What does a Handler Do?

The Handler (or Owner/Trainer, depending on the dynamic) typically takes on a caregiver-type role in the relationship. Their primary purpose is to make sure their pet is hydrated, fed, happy, and has a safe space to be their truest animal self.

Similar to other D/s relationships, a good Handler encourages their pet to be the best they can be, and teaches them how to best obey, serve, and act according to their Handler's wishes. In essence, they are responsible for their pet's safety, wellbeing, and training during play.

Wiley Wolfe & Titus Hound teaching Pet Play 101 at Dyke Day LA 2019

How can I play safely?

We will go over this in more detail in a later post. However, there are some basics that are important to cover right away.

Always negotiate before a scene. Discuss limits, triggers, interests, safe words/signals, food allergies/dietary restrictions (for treats), and any relevant medical conditions.

NEVER use real pet food or treats! Feed your human pet according to their human body. Real pet food is not good for them and can in fact be toxic. There are many human foods out there - such as scooby snacks, jerky, goldfish, beef stew, chili, sushi, etc. - that can mimic the "real" experience without being harmful.

Pets should wear kneepads and padded mitts/gloves for protection while playing actively on all fours. Sleeve style kneepads are best.

Handlers should keep a first aid kit on hand at all times. Accidents happen, and it's important to be prepared.

Always practice SCC (Safe, Sane, Consensual) and RACK (Risk-Aware Consensual Kink).

Daddy Row and Pup Papi at our 2019 September Mosh @ Dungeon East

Why do we engage in pet play, anyway?

It's fair to be confused at first. After all, it's not common to see people acting like pets and Handlers, wearing animal masks and playing with toys on all fours. However, there are many reasons why people engage in this lifestyle. While everyone has their own answers, here are some common ones:

SELF-EXPRESSION. Shedding one’s human inhibitions and acting on primal instinct, fully trusting their Handler to care for them, can be freeing and beautiful. It’s about giving you permission to engage in innocent, honest play, as if you were a child again.

DE-STRESS. Letting go of all human problems/worries and just living in the moment as a pet can be extremely relaxing, almost like a form of meditation. It's a way to disconnect from the day's frustrations - for Handlers, too! There's nothing better than coming home to play with or cuddle your pet after a long, hard day.

DISCIPLINE. Training can be a big aspect of pet play. When combined with a power exchange dynamic, learning discipline as a human animal can be rewarding - and a huge turn-on.

OWNERSHIP. Although you don't need to have a Handler to be a pet, some very much enjoy the feeling of being owned and taken care of by their Dominant partner. Similarly, Handlers tend to enjoy the feeling of dominance when they own a human pet trained exactly to their specifications. It is a point of pride and love.

CONNECTION. There are few connections more beautiful and genuine than the love between a biological pet and their owner - and that's a wonderful bond to recreate within pet play. It's honest, it's vulnerable, it's fun, and it's worth working for.

Madame Margherite and her Elite pets at our 2019 April Pride Mosh

We hope this gave you a glimmer of insight into pet play! As time goes on, we will continue to post educational resources about this wonderful kink - such it's history, negotiation practices, scene ideas, ways to deepen headspace, pack dynamics, and more.

Until next time. Awoooo!