Well, the fandom formed out of people from multiple fandoms - science-fiction/fantasy, animation, anime, comics, role-playing gamers - I don't think it's possible to say that any were dominant over the others. However, science-fiction conventions were the most common non-house events that allowed furry fans to meet up with each other during the 1980s. So I wouldn't say SF fandom so much influenced furry fandom; it's more along the lines of helping to provide the fandom with convenient places and times to meet up, depending what part of the country you lived in.
If you were a furry fan during the late 70s or early 80s, furry hadn't come together as a fandom yet. With no Internet, you were on your own in terms of your obscure interest. You weren't a furry fan; you were an animation fan, or an RPG fan, or a SF fan, etc. - and a nerd who also happened to like anthropomorphic animals, which thanks to Disney and Saturday morning cartoons, were considered kid's stuff.
And since you weren't going to find much besides kid's stuff in popular culture, you went to where other nerds hung out: comic book stores, RPG sessions, science-fiction conventions, and local clubs (if any). You had to be able to travel a bit and be socially competent/outgoing. Because at the nerdy gatherings, you knew there was just a slightly higher chance of finding anthropomorphic stuff, aimed at an older age group. But mostly you went to these places because you liked comics or SF or gaming or whatever. And then, usually completely by accident, you figured out someone else there thought anthropomorphics were cool too - and slowly, very slowly, that's how folks met and things started to come together.
Well, the fandom formed out of people from multiple fandoms - science-fiction/fantasy, animation, anime, comics, role-playing gamers - I don't think it's possible to say that any were dominant over the others. However, science-fiction conventions were the most common non-house events that allowed furry fans to meet up with each other during the 1980s. So I wouldn't say SF fandom so much influenced furry fandom; it's more along the lines of helping to provide the fandom with convenient places and times to meet up, depending what part of the country you lived in.
If you were a furry fan during the late 70s or early 80s, furry hadn't come together as a fandom yet. With no Internet, you were on your own in terms of your obscure interest. You weren't a furry fan; you were an animation fan, or an RPG fan, or a SF fan, etc. - and a nerd who also happened to like anthropomorphic animals, which thanks to Disney and Saturday morning cartoons, were considered kid's stuff.
And since you weren't going to find much besides kid's stuff in popular culture, you went to where other nerds hung out: comic book stores, RPG sessions, science-fiction conventions, and local clubs (if any). You had to be able to travel a bit and be socially competent/outgoing. Because at the nerdy gatherings, you knew there was just a slightly higher chance of finding anthropomorphic stuff, aimed at an older age group. But mostly you went to these places because you liked comics or SF or gaming or whatever. And then, usually completely by accident, you figured out someone else there thought anthropomorphics were cool too - and slowly, very slowly, that's how folks met and things started to come together.