Man who spent $14K to become a collie changes his mind after realizing it’s ‘very difficult’ to walk like a dog
A Japanese man who spent thousands of dollars to turn into a dog said he changed his mind after realizing it was difficult to walk like a dog.
Toco spent $14,000 on a custom rough collie costume in 2022 to fulfill his lifelong fantasy of “becoming an animal.”
He waited 40 days while specialty suit and makeup company Zeppet finished his “ultra-realistic” dog costume in 2022 before he could finally make his dream come true.
But now he has revealed that the challenges of moving like a dog have led him to imitate other animals.
Toco, who spent $14,000 on a custom-made rough collie costume in 2022, has now reconsidered his decision to become a dog
‘Dogs and people have different bone structures and the way they bend their legs and arms, so it’s very difficult to make movements that look like this.
‘Realistically I could maybe become another dog, a panda or a bear, a fox or a cat would be nice too, but they’re too small for people to try.
“I would like to realize my dream of becoming another animal one day,” the animal lover told Japanese news channel WanQol.
In January, Toco uploaded video footage of his quest to successfully jump hurdles and climb A-frames while on all fours in his collie costume for his cult status of more than 61,000 followers YouTube to see.
In a video – titled ‘A man turns into a dog! I tried agility in a realistic dog costume!’ – the man performs a series of agility tests together with his apparently amazed Japanese Akita companion.
Toco first tried to jump over a yellow steel obstacle, which was about 40cm high, before crashing in a heap onto the support pole.
The human-dog hybrid then attempted to effortlessly slide through a row of colorful weaving sticks, before struggling to fit through the first four.
The third test was in the form of an A-frame. Toco stepped forward, using his front legs to drag himself up and walk forward, before accepting his fate and landing backwards on the ground.
Toco first tries to jump over a yellow steel obstacle, measured at a height of about 40 cm, before crashing in a heap on the support pole
Toco once said: ‘Ever since I was little I wanted to be an animal. I think it’s a desire to transform. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I can remember.’
Fans and critics alike flocked to the comments to share their thoughts on Toco testing his agility skills as a dog.
Toco told MailOnline in May 2022: ‘Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to be an animal. I think it’s a desire to transform. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I can remember.’
The dog lover said he has hidden his identity and his human face from the world because he doesn’t want to be judged by people he knows.
“I don’t want my hobbies to be known,” he said, “especially to the people I work with.”
Toco added, “They think it’s weird that I want to be a dog. For the same reason I can’t show my real face.’