Japanese man who spent £12,480 to look like a dog encourages others to follow him

‘Since I was a child I wanted a change,’ the man says

A Japanese man who turned himself into a dogthrough a transformation that cost thousands has spoken for the first time on camera in his new look.

Toco, the man’s new canine persona, spent more than £12,480 on the transformation in the past two years. His interesting aspiration caught the attention of many, which caused his dog journey to go viral online. Toco has never unveiled his true form to keep his identity concealed from those he sees daily, especially his coworkers.

His YouTube account, @I _want_to_be_an_animal, where he frequently posts videos of him doing human-like or dog-related activities like sipping on a bottle of coke or strolling in the park on all fours, has reached over 55,000 subscribers. In the videos, he never breaks character in the suit, always sticking to a strict dialogue of barking.

Now, he is ready to publicise himself as a dog further by appearing on EFE, a Spanish news agency. During the interview, he spoke about how being in a furry form makes him feel fulfilled. Toco admitted he’d never felt completely himself with just his human body.

“Since I was a child I wanted a change,” the man confessed. “When I am dressed in the suit I feel happy because my dreams come true.”

Toco wasn’t able to completely reconfigure his look permanently. So, the man reached out to a company called Zeppet to make the custom costume. He went on to admit the creation took about 40 days to make. The full look includes clawed paws, a long snout, tall ears, a tail, and full-body fur. In total, the get-up weighs about 8.8 pounds.

One Zeppet representative detailed the costume-making process. “The point is that the skeleton of a dog can be reproduced on the skeleton of a human,” they noted. “Since the structure of the skeleton is very different, we spent a lot of time studying how to make it look like a dog.”

While speaking to Mynavi, Toco opened up about why he chose to turn himself into a collie out of all canine breeds. “I made it a collie because it looks real when I put it on,” he said. “My favourite is quadrupedal animals, especially cute ones.”

“Among them, I thought that a big animal close to me would be good, considering that it would be a realistic model, so I decided to make it a dog,” Toco continued. “I met such a condition and made collie, my favourite breed of dog.”

Toco has received all kinds of support on his YouTube channel. Many have been inspired by his continued pursuit of a childhood dream.

“Remember when we were little and wished we could transform into an animal and change back human sometimes- THIS DUDE CAN,” a follower commented on a video of him eating dog food, while another added: “Absolutely fabulous doggy suit.”

The flood of encouragement has only motivated the man to keep inspiring others to follow suit if they want. “I received all kinds of messages, among the positive messages, some tell me that they want to do what [I’ve done],” he admitted. “This has allowed me to see that there are other people like me.”

The Independent has contacted Toco for comment.