Individual Invests $14K in Canine Attire to Achieve Lifelong Aspiration of Emulating a Dog

A Japanese man who spent $14,000 on a custom-made collie dog costume said that his childhood dream to become an animal stems from a desire to “transform.” 

The man, who goes by the name Toco but has so far declined to publicly reveal his identity, obtained his collie costume from a makeup and costume company called Zeppet, which took 40 days to complete the design.

Toco has a YouTube channel titled “I want to be an animal,” where he uploads videos of himself behaving like a dog while in costume. A video uploaded earlier this month shows a woman leading Toco by a leash in public as he attempts to walk on all fours and sniffs at other dogs. Even with a costume, he wasn’t convincing to other canines, one of which ran far away from the faux collie. 

As of Thursday, the video has over 7.1 million views, and the YouTube channel has over 46,800 subscribers. Other videos on the channel show Toco locked in a cage or eating from a food dish for dogs. 

According to Zeppet, the company created the dog suit at the “request of a customer.” The company explained that the suit is modeled after a collie, and it reproduces the realistic appearance of a real, quadrupedal dog.”

Zeppet did not immediately respond to The Christian Post’s request for comment.

Oli London, an outspoken critic of trans ideology and author of Gender Madness: One Man’s Devastating Struggle with Woke Ideology and His Battle to Protect Children, reacted to the story in a tweet last Friday. 

“Japanese man who identifies as a dog goes for a walk in public and enjoys being stroked by strangers,” London stated, highlighting the expense of the costume. “Weird or cool?”

In a Monday statement to The Daily Mail, Toco expressed sadness over some of the critical reactions to his costume online, as some users suggested that the man should have spent the money on therapy instead. 

“I’m just sad that people can think that. I love animals and enjoy play-acting like a collie,” he said. “This is my hobby, so I will carry on. It makes me happy and other people happy too.” 

Toco told Daily Mail in May of last year that he is hesitant to reveal to his friends that he enjoys pretending to be a dog because he is afraid of judgment. 

“I don’t want my hobbies to be known,” he said at the time, “especially by the people I work with.” 

According to Toco, his dream to be a dog stemmed from childhood, and he believes his wish to be an animal is due to a “desire to transform.”

In September, Toco posted a video of himself taking a walk outside in his dog costume, highlighting how the dreams most people have in childhood are often “unrealistic.” 

“You want to be a hero, a wizard or a dog,” the video subtitles read. “Who wants to be a dog and then actually tries to be a dog?” 

“All joking aside, I remember writing in my grade school graduation book that I wanted to be a dog and walk outside,” Toco continued. “I don’t remember why I wrote that.” 

As he walked for the first time outside, he said that he felt “nervous,” and he noted that he posed like a “real dog” so other people wouldn’t recognize him. 

Toco tweeted about his collie costume for the first time in April 2022, showing off the design in a video he shared in the tweet, saying that he “was able to fulfill my dream of becoming an animal!” 

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