Furry social media goes dark as Tony "Dogbomb" Barrett passes on
Furry icons on social media sites went dark on April 5, 2019, following a tweet from Dogbomb that he would be passing on soon. Known for his German Shepherd fursona, Tony Barrett had modelled his character in honor of Rodger, a canine companion he'd lost, who had been with him for 14 years.
Dogbomb's wardrobe consisted of a Hawaiian-style lei, which is why some of the recent icons have been placing the flowery necklace against a black background, a design put forth by The Forgess, pictured here.
It stands out as a beacon, as Tony had been in his life.
Update 4/8: Fixed statement where Lei art was falsely credited to Trinity. Thanks to BlindWolf8 for the correction.
An advocate who would not go quietly
The circumstances around Tony's passing are rare: a furry fan knowing the end to their mortal chapter in advance. He'd been diagnosed with a terminal illness known as ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), in March 2018. In that time he'd become an advocate of fundraising and spreading awareness of the disease. In October of 2018, Tony and his team raised $35,550 for the ALS Foundation. As someone never sedate in life, Dogbomb fought his circumstances and showed his determination to not let the condition define what he could and couldn't do.
He also made it clear that although he would die, the sleeping dog would not lie. In a letter to those who would be using his cadaver (which he donated for research purposes), he gives comfort by using a sort of macabre humor. It also appears that he bequeathed his Twitter account to a person naming themselves Greg, to keep the conversation of advocacy going. What they plan on utilizing the feed for has yet to be seen. The account could be used to post news stories and statistics about the fight against ALS, or maybe fundraise using fan-created works made in Dogbomb's honor. Regardless, it's an opportunity for those of us left behind to continue being charitable in the memory of those lost to the disease.
Footsteps to follow, as the furs left behind move forward
As a veterinary technician, Tony was well-versed in the cycle of life and death and the loss of those we care for, animal or human alike. His career had him pursue the fight for quality of life, even before he learned of his terminal diagnosis. One well-known story was when he'd used his fursuiting as a way to bring joy to the infirm. "Courage on Two Wheels" was a post made on Fur Affinity in 2010 about meeting a lady on the beach who was wheelchair-bound by cerebral palsy, and the happiness his fursuit had brought to her.
More details about his personality and life will be coming out on the Moms of Furries twitter feed, for whom Tony had answered twenty questions before he passed on. The first one being how he came to join the fandom. Apparently an inquisitive waitress had asked him if he was a furry, when he wore a T-shirt and dog ears in honor of his lost companion. Confused about the term, he went home to research the community, and then decided to join the fandom. Moms of Furries have stated they will be releasing more stories and answers in the days to come.
A multitude of furry fans have contributed fan art of his character which can be found on his Twitter feed, including touching animations by Jib Kodi and Dark Ivory. As the furs who are left behind continue on our journeys, the impact the Dogbomb left on the community will be remembered in fondness. Please feel free to share your stories you have in the comments below.
Administrator note: Trollish comments will be deleted. Please do not reply to them, as the replies get deleted as well.
About the author
Sonious (Tantroo McNally) — read stories — contact (login required)a project coordinator and Kangaroo from CheektRoowaga, NY, interested in video games, current events, politics, writing and finance
Comments
Though I never met Dogbomb, I won't forget his ceaseless humour and courage in confronting a fate which would have reduced the vast majority of us, myself included, to screams and self-pity.
Agreed. I hope I'll be equally brave when my time comes.
"Blatant self-promotion? What's that?"
Looks like the actual creator of the Twitter icon is listed here: https://twitter.com/yellowcrash10/status/1114649524746838016
...man, seriously? Of all the things someone wanted to steal credit for?
That twitter account has earned a very rare block from me (second in my entire Twitter history)... article will be updated. Thanks for the correction.
In fairness, the tweet you linked never claims to have made the artwork. It just says "This is my tribute to Dogbomb." You made the assumption that meant the creation of the artwork. It is also possible that the person merely meant posting that in remembrance and changing their profile pic was the tribute, as has been done by many other furs. e.g. https://twitter.com/stinkycollie/status/1114301752428384257 https://twitter.com/5280milesishot/status/1114313068832534528 https://twitter.com/ChocoFloof/status/1114294525219016704 https://twitter.com/HeytharHere/status/1114317709661990913
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~
I am aware people were changing their icons to that, which was the intention of the artist, and was noted in the opening statement of the article.
Is it possible the individual had poor wording choice when it came to indicating that she was changing her icon? It's possible. The thing that causes one to read it as hers is the possessive "MY" in the tweet.
In all the tweets you present, particularly the last one, there was just notification but no wording that claimed ownership of the artwork itself. The artist's intention was for it to be used instead of the pure black screens, so the usage is not the issue. It's more an issue that one who used a possessive term that made it read as if the art belonged to her instead of that she was using it for tribute.
Could be an honest mistake, just kind of frustrating because that was the one that Twitter notified me on April 5th of instead of the actual artist's tweet, which the comment of correction in the comments of her Tweet wasn't placed until April 6th.
I think it's just that the wording is ambiguous. Ideally, credit should have been given. At the same time, if you bring a bunch of flowers for a remembrance, you might not think to credit the florist, as the act of displaying them is still "your tribute" (granted, in that case you probably paid for it).
It seemed like an honest mistake to me. You may want to update the original article to link both tweets?
He did; it's on the names.
Ah. I see it got updated again. First revision had the artist's name but didn't link it.
Stop making this about you and your ego. You have no authority speaking on artwork, all you create is hatred and dissent. Show some respect man, someone that was perhaps over one thousand times more worth of wearing the furry moniker than you will ever be, has passed.
I didn't know people had to be "worthy" enough to be able to call themselves a furry.
Hmmm... nope, not worth a response at all.
You just did, cutie~ ;3
i never knew the guy until i heard the news. but it is what we share in this fandom that brings us all together as one big and caring family. that is why we will never cease to forget all the things dogbomb had given during his time here on earth.
Something important to add, Dogbomb also:
- Got several spinal taps solely to send to research labs. SEVERAL. Just ONE is pure "Nothing on earth can compare to this" level of agony from people who have had one, and he had s e v e r a l
- Participated in experimental stem cell treatment
- Donated his body to science
- Raised awareness of ALS throughout the furry community
While there are many things to laud about this, I think the pain of a spinal tap is exaggerated. I had one as a kid during a bout of suspected meningitis (which turned out to be just really bad mono). Local anaesthetic made it no big deal at all.
Either way, Tony went above and beyond in his efforts to help people, both before and during his illness.
"Blatant self-promotion? What's that?"
I am relatively new to the furry community, so I hadn't heard of Dogbomb until the day he was leaving. I spent about 3 hours going through his Twitter feed, and was so heavily inspired. He was, and still is, an inspiration not just to furs, but to people everywhere. He never backed down when he absolutely could have. He's certainly in my thoughts these last couple days.
I may have never met this wonderful man, and I may have only heard about him just a few days ago, but oh, my god, I respect him so, so much. Wish I'd knew him a little bit longer ;-;
Should be Jib Kodi not Jim Lol. Great article though, wish I knew the guy! He was and is and grand inspiration and example of living life to the fullest no matter what!
Nah, it's his name that's wrong! ;-p
Thanks for updating Green
I never knew this guy existed but I think he inspired me. I am gonna become a furry of my decessed dog! Thanks internet!
...I'm unsure if I should rate this comment a 1 or a 5. Can I get an outside opinion?
You know, I feel like rating it one way or the other is more of a reaction than it deserves.
Dogbomb was a staple member of the SoCal furry community, his presence in-suit basically a given at a major event. His relentless positivity and unwillingness to let life tear him down is nothing short of inspirational.
Knowing what was coming, he did not go quietly into the night, he did not give in without a fight. RIP.
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