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<\/source><\/picture>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 \u201ctransform.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Toco has a YouTube channel titled \u201cI want to be an animal<\/a>,\u201d where he uploads videos of himself behaving like a dog while in costume. A video<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Zeppet, the company created<\/a> the dog suit at the \u201crequest of a customer.\u201d The company explained that the suit is modeled after a collie, and it reproduces the realistic appearance of a real, quadrupedal dog.”<\/p>\n Zeppet did not immediately respond to The Christian Post\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n 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<\/em><\/a>, reacted to the story in a\u00a0tweet<\/a>\u00a0last Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJapanese man who identifies as a dog goes for a walk in public and enjoys being stroked by strangers,\u201d London stated, highlighting the expense of the costume. \u201cWeird or cool?\u201d<\/p>\n In a Monday\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0to 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI’m just sad that people can think that. I love animals and enjoy play-acting like a collie,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is my hobby, so I will carry on. It makes me happy and other people happy too.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Toco told Daily Mail<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t want my hobbies to be known,\u201d he said at the time, \u201cespecially by the people I work with.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n 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 \u201cdesire to transform.\u201d<\/p>\n In September, Toco posted a\u00a0video<\/a>\u00a0of himself taking a walk outside in his dog costume, highlighting how the dreams most people have in childhood are often \u201cunrealistic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to be a hero, a wizard or a dog,\u201d the video subtitles read. \u201cWho wants to be a dog and then actually tries to be a dog?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAll joking aside, I remember writing in my grade school graduation book that I wanted to be a dog and walk outside,\u201d Toco continued. \u201cI don\u2019t remember why I wrote that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As he walked for the first time outside, he said that he felt \u201cnervous,\u201d and he noted that he posed like a \u201creal dog\u201d so other people wouldn\u2019t recognize him.\u00a0<\/p>\n Toco\u00a0tweeted<\/a> 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!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at:\u00a0samantha.kamman@christianpost.com<\/a>. Follow her on Twitter:\u00a0@Samantha_Kamman<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST<\/strong> newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nFree<\/span> Religious Freedom Updates<\/h2>\n