FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Martha is sleeping comfortably in her regular spot on the couch, but her ears perk up as the sound of laughter fills the air. Regardless of how hard she tries, she can't help but wonder what's going on. The sound of laughing draws her towards the direction of Helen's bedroom. Poking her head inside, she finds Helen and Carolina laughing at something on the phone. Humans call it a "smartphone," but Martha is still struggling to get used to it.

It seems like every day she encounters someone walking by who has one.

“Hey, what’s all the noise about?” Martha asks.

“Oh! Hey, Martha!” Helen waves Martha over. “Look at this; it’s super weird!”

Martha approaches the phone and takes a peek at the display. When she sees a human guy kissing a dog, she cocks her head.

“What’s so weird about that? I kiss lots of people!”

“Martha, you lick people, not kiss them. Kissing is mutual.”

“No one has ever complained when I’ve licked them. How is that not mutual?”

Carolina stands up. “Alright, Helen. I’m leaving before this gets weird. See you later.”

Helen waves to her friend. “Alright, see you later.”

Martha returns her gaze to Helen. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, it’s fine. I know you’re just curious.” Helen mulls over how to explain this. “So, that guy says he’s in love with his dog.”

“Uhhhh.” Martha looks confused. “Isn’t that normal? Don’t you love me?”

“Martha, of course I love you, but I’m not in love with you.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Geez.” Helen scratches the back of her neck. “So, have you ever liked a dog a lot? Like, so much so that you want to be with them forever?”

“Well, yeah!” Martha smiles. “I love playing with Skits and the other dogs. Why, if I could do that forever, I’d be the happiest dog around!”

“Ugh! I’m doing a bad job explaining this.” Helen decides to try another approach. “Martha, remember a few months ago when you ran off because of your heat?”

Martha blushes hard. “I-I said I was sorry about that, and it would’ve been a lot easier if you just told me what was happening!”

“Putting that aside. Love is kinda like that feeling you get when you’re in heat. But, you feel it all the time.”

“That sounds awful! I can’t even imagine feeling that way all the time!”

“It’s more than that, Martha. Love is caring deeply for one person with all your heart and no one else.”

Martha’s brows furrow. “Man, this love stuff is super complex.”

“Yeah, not even us humans understand it very well.”

Martha looks at the phone Helen set down on the floor. “So this human is in love with his dog?”

“Pretty much.”

“Why is that funny?”

“It’s funny because humans don’t date dogs, Martha.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know why, but it’s an unspoken rule that you’re never supposed to do it. They call it zoophilia, and that guy could go to jail if he tried anything physical with his dog.”

“But why?”

“That’s the law, Martha. Not all dogs can speak like you, so consent can be difficult.”

“Consent?”

“Yeah, Consent is-”

“Helen! I need your help at the shop today!” Mariela calls out.

“Ok, Mom!” Helen looks back at Martha. “Go ask, T.D.. He’ll give you the rundown.”

“Alright. See you later.”

“See you later.”

It's just Martha and her thoughts on this topic now. As far as she's concerned, it's a simple matter. Why shouldn't people and dogs be able to date as long as no one gets hurt? To her, it's not humorous in the slightest. If they’re in love, then why deny that? Perhaps it has something to do with the entire "consent" thing Helen mentioned. She better find T.D. quick and get to the bottom of this!

---

T.D. opens the door and finds Martha standing there.

“Oh? Hey, Martha. What brings you around?”

“Hey, T.D. Can we talk about consent?”

T.D’s eyes widen. “W-What? Uh.” He looks over his shoulder to see his parents are busy with something. “Meet me out back; I really don’t want my parents hearing me talk about that stuff.”

“Alright.”

Martha walks around the house to the backyard, and soon T.D. comes out red in the face.

“Follow me to the garage.”

Martha doesn’t say anything and just follows T.D. to the garage, where he lets her in and closes the door.

“What’s with all the secrecy?” Martha asks.

“Well, considering what we did when you were in heat, it’s kinda weird for you to bring up consent.”

“What does us having sex have to do with consent?”

T.D. lets out a long sigh. “Let’s start from the top. How did this topic start?”

“This morning Helen was watching this video of a guy kissing his dog.”

T.D. facepalms. “Oh, yeah, that video has been getting around at school.”

“Helen then said that the man was in love with his dog and that it was wrong because dogs can’t consent.”

“Alright, I think I get it. So, what do you want to know?”

“I find it odd that humans worry about this weird consent thing when dating an animal. If they love each other, why would dating a dog be wrong? We’re awesome!”

T.D. kneels down. “Consent is a weird thing. In this context, Helen was most likely talking about sex.”

“Context?” Martha asks.

“Context is the circumstances that form a setting for an event, statement or idea. So, for example: Martha, can I take off your collar?”

“Um, sure?” Martha answers.

“See! That’s a form of consent; I asked you before doing something.”

“So, what does that have to do with love?”

T.D blushes harder. “Well, before we get into that we have to talk about sex.”

Martha cocks her head. “What about it? Do you want to have some right now?” She turns her hind end towards T.D “We still haven’t given it a try while I’m out of heat.”

“No, Martha. Consent, in this context, is having both partners saying they want to have sex with each other.” T.D. rubs the back of his neck. “It’s not possible to get consent from a dog. So that’s why it’s weird.”

“But if no one is getting hurt, why does consent matter? I mean, we dogs don’t talk human at each other; we just speak our own language. What if a dog gives a human consent in dog language?”

“Martha, you’re the only dog on this planet who can speak both languages. Even if a dog gave consent, we can’t prove it, so it’s considered illegal to have sex with any animal.”

“But that’s so stupid! If the dog is happy and the human is happy, what’s wrong with that? I mean, it’s not like humans ask for our consent for anything else. Why does consent matter when it comes to sex?”

“Well, um...” T.D. scratches his chin. “I never thought of it that way. I guess you’re right, but there’s also a moral issue.”

“What’s a moral?”

“It’s the general principles of right and wrong. So, even if all animals could talk human, we’d still find it morally wrong.”

“Why does everything have to be so complicated? We dogs just live one day at a time. We don’t think about tomorrow or if our ball is going to be lost under the couch in the next hour. We just live happy lives with the ones we love.”

“That’s good, Martha. But why should a human come in and try to use their authority to have a relationship with you? That’s morally wrong.”

“If a human wanted to date me, I’d give it a try!” Martha says with conviction. “Who cares if it’s morally wrong if there’s a chance we’d both be happy.”

“Come on, Martha. Do you even know what dating is?” T.D. jokes.

Martha narrows her eyes. “I watch TV!” She gives a huff. “Seeing as we’ve had sex, what would be so wrong if we dated? It’s not like you’d have any authority over me.”

“I’m just trying to play devil’s advocate here.”

“Play what now?”

“Devil’s advocate. It means I’m pretending to debate an opinion that isn’t truly my own. To try and help you understand the other viewpoint.”

“So what do you think about this whole consent thing?” Martha asks.

“Honestly, I’d be really hesitant to have sex with any other dog. The fact you can talk does help a lot.”

“So if I couldn’t talk you wouldn’t have had sex with me?” Martha asks sadly.

“Sorry, Martha. Probably not. Humans are conditioned not to look at other creatures sexually. Even if you tried to ask for sex in your own language, I would’ve thought you were trying to play.”

“This needs to change!” Martha states with conviction. “I can’t even imagine how many dogs out there want to be in a relationship with their humans and can’t!”

“What are you going to do? Protest?”

“Exactly! I’m going to gather up all the dogs and advocate for interspecies relationships!”

Before T.D. can get another word in, Martha is already sprinting out the door.

“Oh, brother... I don’t have a good feeling about this.” He says to himself before returning to his room.

---

Martha comes busting in through her doggy door before her eyes lock on her target.

“Skits!” She runs up to him. “Good thing I’ve found you! There’s a great injustice that needs to be solved!”

Skits barks while cocking his head.

“What does injustice mean? It’s basically a lack of fairness.”

Skits barks again.

“Yeah! Kinda like how you want to chase the squirrel, but Helen tells you no despite it coming back again.”

He gives a few more barks.

“I just learned that humans think it’s wrong to be in love with us!”

Skits whines as his ears hang low.

“No, no, no. Not that type of love. Of course, the family loves us. I’m talking about a relationship. Like being mates!”

Skits cocks his head.

“Dang it, Skits! I know you don’t like them like that, but what if a dog does? Do you think that’s wrong?”

He shakes his head.

“Well, what if I told you humans put other humans into jail if they find out they love their dog like that?”

Skits barks.

“No, Skits. Jail isn’t a vacation. It’s like being sent to the pound but for humans!”

Skits tails pressed between his legs.

“Don’t worry. We’re not going to get in trouble. I just believe we should gather up the other dogs and advocate for interspecies relationships. Are you with me?”

Skits gives her a happy nod.

“I knew I could count on you!” Martha taps her chin in thought. “Even if we gather all the dogs, what are we supposed to do then?” Skits barks with a questioning gaze. “Heh... Well, I’ll figure the plan out as we go.”

---

Helen is helping her mom around the store, but while setting out a vase on a table, she swears she hears something.

“Mom, do you hear something?”

Looking over at her mother, she finds her standing motionlessly while staring out the front door.

“Uh, Helen. I think you need to see this.”

Walking over and peering outside, Helen gasps as she finds a giant herd of dogs marching down the road with Martha at the head with a megaphone taped to her neck. She pauses in the middle of the road and steps onto the switch that activates the megaphone that’s taped to her forepaw.

“Hear me, Humans!” Martha shouts. “We dogs are tired of being treated like your fur babies! Sometimes we want to be fur lovers!” All the dogs behind her howl in unison. “We may not talk human, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to have sex! We give consent in our own way!” Another howl. “We’re here to protest this mistreatment! Once and for all, we want to legalize interspecies relationships!”

Helen runs out and over to Martha.

“Martha! What are you doing?!”

Martha smiles, seeing Helen.

“Oh, hey Helen!” Martha realizes her mistake and lifts her paw to turn off the megaphone. “After the talk I had with you and TD this morning, I thought it was silly that humans get in trouble for have sex with animals. So I gathered up all the dogs to protest!” She turns to the crowd and steps on the switch again. “Take it from me! A talking dog who’s been fucked by a human! I loved it, and I want more!”

The entire crowd is beginning to mumble about what’s going on.

“Martha, are you crazy?!” Helen whispers. “There’s no way anyone would agree to this! You’re the only dog that can talk...” Then something hits Helen. “D-Did you just say you’ve had sex with a human before?”

Martha blushes heavily. “U-Uh... Maybe?” She nervously laughs. “But you do have a point.” she turns back to the crowd. “Maybe you humans need some basic tips on dog language!” Martha turns her ass to the crowd. “Tucked tail is usually a no-go!” she tucks her tail, before then moving it to the side, showing off her cookie. “To the side usually means they’re eager for it!”

She spins around and growls. “Growling is obvious! Clearly not interested. And that’s all you need to know! Stop making things too complicated. We don’t think like you humans. We just like having sex with those we love. Simple, right? Especially during heat! If you’re an owner of a female dog and you put a diaper on them instead of fucking them, you’re abusing us!”

Skits walks over and barks at Martha.

“Oh! Sorry.” She turns to the crowd. “As for male dogs. Well, it’s pretty obvious when they want some! Stop treating it as if it’s something to be punished! I never see you humans smack each other on the nose with how horny you are! Imagine having a dick and being unable to masturbate!” Martha sighs. “Obviously, not all dogs. However, we’re here today because we think it’s insane how you think you can fight for our right not to be “abused” and yet think it’s alright to keep us locked onto a chain in your front yard!”

Martha looks over at Bob, who nods his head.

“So stop being so squeamish and judgemental of other humans who’ve accepted us as lovers! History is about man and dog. We earned the title of ‘Man’s best friend’, so why is it wrong when that friend wants to be a lover or friend with benefits?” Many townspeople are looking at each other and nodding in agreement at Martha’s words. “While I know it’ll be tough, we all have to start somewhere! One paw forward is all it takes to bring change. Who is with me!”

All the dogs howl in unison as a few people begin to clap. Helen is just standing there dumbfounded by all of this, not sure what to say about what is happening. But before anything can be said a man in a suit steps through the crowd and in front of Martha.

“Hello there, Martha. I’m the mayor, and I’ve been listening to what you’ve had to say, and I have to say you make a lot of fair points. Though I believe we’d only be able to apply it to canines. As you said, they’ve been with us the longest and would be the only ones deserving of such leniency.”

Martha shrug. “Fine by me.”

“Hey!” Ronald walks into the center. “What about people who like cats? Don't they deserve leniency too?”

“Cats are dumb, so who cares?” Martha states.

Everyone cheers as Ronald huffs in annoyance.

“Since everyone is in agreement, I will now degree that interspecies relationships with canines are now legal!”

“Martha!” T.D runs up to her.

“Did you hear the great news? We can have as much sex as we want!”

“Martha!” He shouts again.

“T.D?”

“Martha!”

Martha wakes up in surprise as she looks around.

“Huh? W-Where” She yawns. “Where am I? What happened to the crowd?”

“Crowd?”

Martha looks over to see T.D looking at her concerned. She smiles, tail wagging as she jumps up onto his chest, knocking him down as she licks his face.

“Did you hear the great news? We can legally have sex!” She shouts.

He quickly grabs her muzzle shut. “Martha! What are you talking about?”

“The dogs and I protested about interspecies relationships and got the mayor to make it legal.” She states matter of factly, muffled from T.D still holding her muzzle shut.

“Martha, you fell asleep after I told you about consent. It’s getting late, so I was waking you up.”

“W-What? So interspecies relationships aren’t legal?”

“Don’t be silly, your protesting wouldn’t end with it suddenly becoming legal.” He pets her. “The fact is, it will take a lot of time. Small things to make everyone feel comfortable and then protesting.”

“But what about all those people who want to love their dogs?”

“The thing is, Martha. They already are. They’re not concerned about the law because it only matters if you get caught. That’s why for right now, it’s safer not to talk about it.”

“So you’re fine with what’s going on?”

T.D shrugs. “Not really. We can always have fun, Martha. People won't know what we’re doing unless you tell them. Whether it’s legal or not doesn’t really make much of a difference... Unless you wanted to tell someone. You don’t, right?”

Martha thinks for a moment. “I guess not.”

“So it’s fine. Just don’t think about it.”

“But what if I’m the only one who can make that change? What if there are no other talking dogs when I’m gone?”

“Talking or not, people won’t accept something they’ve hated their entire life. Don’t put that weight on yourself, Martha. Like you said, dogs live one day at a time. So don’t worry about what future we humans have for ourselves.” Martha nods sadly in understanding, but T.D. comforters her by petting her. “Come on, Martha. Don’t look so sad.”

“I get it, T.D. Still. I hope one day humans will see how awesome dogs are as lovers.”

T.D laughs. “Maybe one day. For today though, I know how awesome you are.”

Martha smiles and returns to licking T.D’s face before pulling away. “Since I’m already here, wanna have sex before I head home?”

T.D smiles back. “Do I?!”