((Cross-Post from a discussion on www.fetlife.com ( https://fetlife.com/groups/122593/g....._posts/7273988 ) ))

Alright! This is one topic I'm gonna love, since I'm rather invested in all three.

--There will be a TL;DR at the bottom, but I believe the parts about primal and furry will be better to read the whole thing.

Lets start with the on most relevant to this group.
Pets, or rather the pet mentalities... In the pet role, the person takes on some of the mentalities and behaviors of an animal in service to an owner. The person may, or may not, feel any particular connection to the animal they're 'playing' as. They may be in the role as a 24/7 dynamic, or only for scenes. The other discussion in the group has many peoples' views on what Pet means in much more detail.

Next, the more relevant to the community on the site, Primals. This is gonna be a 'wall of text' just to warn you. Sorry... but not really.
I was a member of a Primal Pack local to the area for over a year, but am no longer associated with them. Some serious fallout happened due to the choices made by the leadership and I couldn't overlook it. But in that time, I learned soooo much about what it means to be Primal. And sadly... This website is full of pretenders. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those 'one twue way' types... But I can certainly say what Primal is NOT. And I see it a lot.
Primal is a State of Being. It's not some switch you turn on or off. Everyone has the potential to be primal, but not everyone Can. Fet has Primal as a role... But it's Not. You're Primal ALL THE TIME. There's no such thing as a "Primal Scene"(Well... With the exception of Primal Takedowns). It's just Primals having a Scene, which will likely mean more teeth and claws involved.
Primal means embracing the human-animal. Just because we've mastered technology and architecture does not mean we aren't animals. Primal is freedom. Primal means going back to instinct, to natural behaviors, to being You. Society tries to tell everyone how they should think, feel, act, behave... The cage constructed by 'modern society' is a smothering prison to primals. Being Primal means being true to who, and what, you are, regardless of what society as a whole thinks about it. One of the most common ways the Primals I've known have been described by others we've been around is 'intense'... because we don't hide ourselves behind the socially acceptable masks. We are unabashedly honest. That doesn't necessarily mean we always tell the truth, but with a Primal, what you see is what you get. For the most part, Primals are straight-forward and blunt. And that can make us come across as abrasive at times. There are those who take it way too far, and make no attempt to control their primal natures. We generally refer to those people as Feral. And to quote one man I once greatly respected. "Prison's full of feral Primals." But when a Primal does harness that nature, and put it to good use... What you have is a human who's got the strengths of a beast. And when Primals come together in Packs, Prides, ect, there's no such thing as weakness to them. Primals may feel a particular kinship with an animal. For me, it's Tigers. The way I'd describe my general personality is... Imagine a tiger, full belly, lazing about in the shade of a tree. Aloof, happy, but able to spring to action at a moments notice. A lot of my mannerisms and behaviors relate to feline nature as well, from the way I move, to certain vocalizations... But other Primals may, or may not have that animal kinship. Some just relate to the 'natural human'. But lot of people on here seem to think that Primal is about being wild during sex, or being aggressive and being 'the alpha'... But reality check there... If you have to tell someone you're an alpha... You're Not. And Primal has Nothing to do with sex. Yeah, we tend to be a little more animalistic about it, but that isn't what makes you Primal. And as a side-note... I chuckle every time I see a 'pack' that has it's members in different states, or countries. If you haven't seen a person face to face... touched them, smelled them (and yes, Primals smell each other... weird, but we do), how can you call them Pack? Anyone can act like anything online. But in person, those masks are much harder to keep in place.
Just my 2 cent on the last part. Your Mileage May Vary.

And lastly... Furries.
I've been a Fur for most my life now. I discovered the fandom when I was in school. Been Furry longer than I've been Kinky. The Furry Community originated from art. People drawing and writing about humanoid animals. And just think, how many Disney movies does that apply to? Lots. People will give you all kinds of answers to 'what is furry?', but on the whole, if you like the art, the stories, and the characters, then you could say that yeah, you're a Fur. Someone in a post above said that they thought Furry was about cos-playing and costuming. Yes, the Suiters do get a lot of the attention, but they're actually a fairly small percentage of the community. Those suits are EXPENSIVE! If you wanna break it down, Furries are just people who like Anthropomorphic animals. There are some, like myself, who take it a good bit further, but that's the building block, the corner-stone.
Getting more into it... Just like with kink, there are many different 'levels' to it. There are those who just like to look at or draw the art. They may, or may not, have any involvement with the community. The next 'step' to being Furry is creating a character to represent yourself. As some would call it, their Fursona. This character can be anything from an idealized version of themselves, just something they think is cool, a reflection of themselves, or anything. My own is exactly how I see myself in all ways except physically. And if you'd like to hear more about that, I'd welcome anyone to message me personally. From there, Furry becomes more about involvement with the fur community. Websites like www.furaffinity.net are great places to start. You can view/read Furry materials there, interact with the community, and make great friends. Probably the last 'step' to being a Fur is attending the conventions. One coming up next month is Antro-Con in Pittsburgh, PA. It's the larges in the USA, I think... I've yet to make it to a Con as of yet, finances just haven't been good enough to warrant that kind of expense. But at the Cons, you can meet artists, attend events and panels, meet other furs, and in general, have a great time.
Furries are Just Like Kinksters. Just with a different theme.

What brings all three of these things together... is bringing a little more of the Animal into ourselves. A pet takes on characteristics of animal behavior. Primals embrace the animalistic side of humanity. Furries love Animal-People. There's a ton of cross-over between all three. I would like to believe that I'm a good example of what all three can be Together. I'm a Master to pets. I'm a Primal. I'm a Furry. And I wouldn't be ME without the influence of any one of those three things.

--TL;DR--
Animals are Awesome. Playing as an Animal for being a Pet, is Awesome. Primals believing that humans are Animals, is Awesome. Enjoying art of Animals as people, and people as Animals, Is Awesome. And each of the three groups could benefit greatly from knowing more about each other, which would be... Awesome.