So a meme on Facebook posted by a friend brought up a good point. Essentially the meme stated "Is no one going to address the fact that so many women in Quahog are into Beastiality?" But here's my question; Is Brian Griffin actually a dog?

Let me define this a little further. Is Brian a dog like we see every day or like all the other dogs we see in Family Guy, or is he an Anthromorph? From the show, we see him nearly always standing on his hind legs, and rarely ever on all fours. We also see that his hind legs are shaped like a humans, meaning that they are plantigrade rather than digitigrade, which is unlike all the other dogs that have ever been shown on screen. We also know that he has poseable thumbs, a trait associated with Apes and Humans. He also speaks a known human language (English and some Spanish), has his own opinions, has held at least one job, attended a university, has a driver's license, owns a car, has written a novel and a self-help book, and done many other things that other dogs shown on screen have never done (with the notable exception of the ones we saw in the Road to the Multiverse). I put it to you that he is not a dog, rather he is a Canidaesapian (or Canosapian for all you Road Rover fans) and is an entirely new species which has evolved from Canines, much like the evolved forms of Felines and Dinosaurs we see in Star Trek and Star Trek Voyager. This means that he is more like a Cait or the Voth than a Canis Familiaris. So now we get to the fun part. Does that mean having sexual relations with a Cait, Voth, or a Canidaesapian equate to beastiality/zoophilia?

Beastiality (or Bestiality) is defined by Webster's Dictionary as;
"1: the condition or status of a lower animal. 2: display or gratification of bestial traits or impulses. 3: sexual relations between a human being and a lower animal."
And Websters defines Zoophilia as;
"an erotic fixation on animals that may result in sexual excitement through real or fancied contact."
First we must define what a lower animal means. According to Dictionary.com, a lower animal means, "simple or primitive animals; animals that are contrasted with the abilities and intelligence of humans, mammals, and vertebrates." Essentially it describes all animals that are not human or do now show signs of higher brain function or signs of sentients. But what is sentients?
Sentients is defined by Dictionary.com as "1. having the power of perception by the senses; conscious." But what is conscious or consciousness? Again, Dictionary.com;
"1. the state of being conscious; awareness of one's own existence, sensations, thoughts, surroundings, etc.
2. the thoughts and feelings, collectively, of an individual or of an aggregate of people: the moral consciousness of a nation.
3. full activity of the mind and senses, as in waking life: to regain consciousness after fainting.
4. awareness of something for what it is; internal knowledge: consciousness of wrongdoing.
5. concern, interest, or acute awareness: class consciousness."
Based on the definition and the observations made by watching the show, it can be concluded that Brian Griffin displays a human level of consciousness. He is self aware. He uses higher brain functions, therefore, he is not a lower animal, rather, he is a higher animal like Humans, Caits, Voth, Timelords, Wookiees, et cetera. This means that sexual relations with Brian is not beastiality/bestiality/zoophilia.