Ah, the slippery slope begins! If you want to start building a costume before going full fursuit, I swear by Raditz Wyvern for ears. You can also take a look at Wikifur for information about the community (including upcoming events) and The Belfry for a great comics index.
So, why a fennec?
... and this is a good way to start! *offers a cookie to you too!*
There's also sites like furaffinity.net, inkbunny.net, wikifur.com etc. where you can find out information or just start socialising with other furs!
If you're into IRC, you should join #redditfurs on the irc.furnet.org servers, and we'll say hello too! :3 ^send me a message if you need help getting on there at all