A Japanese man who reportedly spent $14,000 on a collie dog costume to realize his dream of “becoming an animal” stepped out for his first walk in public wearing his new custom-made get-up.
“Toco,” as he is known online, shared a video last month of the outing on his YouTube channel, which has more than 42,000 subscribers and is called “I want to be an animal.”
The YouTuber filmed himself playing on a lawn, rolling around on the street, playing fetch, and even playing with other dogs, all while dressed in his hyper-realistic dog disguise.
Japanese man who identifies as a dog goes for a walk in public and enjoys being stroked by strangers.
The man spent over $15,000 on a custom made realistic collie dog costume.
Weird or cool? pic.twitter.com/rifdAtp4Jo
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 28, 2023
“Do you remember your dreams from when you are little? You want to be a hero or a wizard,” Toco said in the video. “I remember writing in my grade school graduation book that I wanted to be a dog and walk outside.”
The viral video of the human “collie’s” outing has racked up six million views so far.
The detailed collie costume was manufactured by the company Zeppet, which said it took 40 days to make and cost about $14,161 or $2 million Yen.
Zeppet published detailed pictures of the collie costume on the company’s website.
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“At the request of a customer, we made a model of a dog suit,” Zeppet said on its website. “Modeled after a collie, it reproduces the realistic appearance of a real, quadrupedal dog.”
In the video of the dog costume making its first public appearance, onlookers stare at Toco in the dog suit as they pass by on the busy street. Other dog owners even stop to take pictures with him and their dogs.
Japanese content creator goes viral after fulfilling his dream of becoming an animal.
Known as Toco, the man spent a reported 2,000,000 Japanese Yen on his border collie fursuit. pic.twitter.com/vUnEH5ptZ2
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 29, 2023
The video was filmed last year when he was interviewed by a German television station, Toco said in the caption.
“I became a collie, fulfilling a dream I had since I was a little child to be an animal!” Toco said in one of his other videos showing him in his collie costume.
“I’ve wanted to be an animal ever since I can remember,” the YouTuber said in one video posted in June of last year in which he answers several questions about his desire to be a collie.
In that video, he says he would like to go outside as a collie, but does not have the “courage” to do so yet.
He also says he decided on being a collie because that is his favorite breed and because collies are not too different in size from humans.
“Sometimes it is reported that I am tired of being human, but I have never said that,” he said in the video.
He acknowledges that his desire would likely be viewed as odd by people and says he usually hides it from his acquaintances.
“For example, if I told the people I work with that I wanted to be an animal and I became a collie, they would look at me funny wouldn’t they?” he said. “I feel a bit of inferiority complex about it so I rarely talk about it with others.”
“If anyone notices who I am, please don’t tell anyone around me!” he pleaded.