Watch | ‘Man-turned-dog’ goes on his first walk, makes some canine friends

A Japanese man, who had splurged more than $20,000 to make the costume of a dog for himself, finally went out for his walk and got successful in making some canine friends.

The man, who is now known only as Toco, spent a whopping amount on this hyperrealistic border collie costume to make his lifelong dream of “becoming an animal” come true.

Sharing the recent updates on his YouTube channel which has nearly 30,000 subscribers, Toco was seen playing in the backyard of his house on all fours and showing tricks in exchange for treats. However, the most recent update was of Toco venturing out on a walk in public for the first in her new look.

In the videos shared on his YouTube channel with the title ‘I want to be an animal’, Toco was seen taking a walk on the streets and sniffing at other dogs present in a park as well as rolling around on the floor.

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Creating a dog identity

The grand debut of Toco, which was captured during the filming of a segment for a German TV station, was well-received by passers-by and other dogs who looked curious. It was difficult to understand if they realised that Toco wasn’t a natural-born dog.

“I became a collie, fulfilling a dream I had since I was a little child to be an animal!” read the subtitles flashed at the beginning of the video.

Toco, giving an introduction on his YouTube channel, explained through a series of written notes translated from Japanese, “Nice to meet you. I became a rough (sic) collie because I wanted to be an animal … Please let me know your request for the video you would like to see in the comments!”

Toco stated that he has been hiding his human identity because he does not want people, who know him, to judge him for his new look.

“I don’t want my hobbies to be known, especially by the people I work with. They think it’s weird that I want to be a dog. For the same reason why I can’t show my real face,” he said while speaking to the Daily Mail last year.

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“I rarely tell my friends because I am afraid they will think I am weird,” the man said in a separate interview with the Mirror. “My friends and family seemed very surprised to learn I became an animal,” he added.

The man said that when he took his first outdoor walk in the backyard of his house in September he felt “nervous and a little scared”.

“I’m very nervous. Do you remember your dreams from when you are little? You want to be a hero or a wizard. I remember writing in my grade school graduation book that I wanted to be a dog and walk outside,” he said in the video.

Japanese company Zeppet, which has been making costumes for TV commercials and films, had spent around 40 days making Toco’s $22,000 outfit. The company's spokesperson said, “Modeled after a collie dog, it reproduces the appearance of a real dog walking on four legs.”

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