The man, only known as Toco, had such a strong desire to become a dog that he spent roughly $16,000 on a human-sized dog costume, which he has worn on a regular basis to fulfill his goal. Not only wearing the costume but whilst wearing it he would act as a dog.
Several months ago, Toco began recording his escapades as a make-believe canine on YouTube, with his profile now filled with several videos of him donning his Collie costume and trying to replicate some doggy behavior, such as walking on all fours and even "eating dog food".
Toco is now concerned about what others might think of his pranks after rising to prominence and amassing over 12,000 members. Toco told the British news outlet Mirror that he has generally kept his pastime private and has refrained from disclosing too much of what he does to his friends and family for fear of changing their impressions of him negatively.
"I rarely tell my friends because I am afraid they will think I am weird. My friends and family seemed very surprised to learn I became an animal," he said.
Toco's passion isn't exactly what most people would consider common or "normal," but he evidently finds a lot of satisfaction in acting totally like a dog, and in front of the camera, no less.
His urge to become a dog evidently led to him learning how to walk on all four legs, beg for belly rubs from humans, rest in a hammock like a dog, and even venture outside in his dog costume — which cost significant money and required a Japanese company 40 days to custom-make.
According to a representative from the company Zeppet (which also makes sculptures and models for film productions), it took the crew a long time to come up with the final design of a human-sized Collie – Toco's favorite breed of dog.
Toco's dog costume and believable canine behavior have clearly found a specialized set of fans online, with many calling his hobby "inspiring" and an encouragement to those who want to look like, behave like, or even entirely turn into animals.
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