Inside this mall, disaster struck. The asteroid causing massive property damage was one thing, but nobody expected the animals. A giant purple mist enveloped the city as humans and animals alike all changed drastically. Where there was once an innocent puppy turned into an adorable anthro, and while it’s owner was a normal man, became a husky anthro to father the child. Panic set it as anyone that could fled the scene. The government quarantined the entire city as the air began to spread, limiting access as much as possible so no one gets affected. The area quarantined spreads further and further as more and more people inhale the purple mist, containment failing more often than not.
So to recap: humans become anthros, animals become anthros, any animals nearby suddenly have a connection to nearby humans (and viceversa), and the mist from the asteroid is spreading.