Japanese man takes his first walk as ‘human dog’ after spending £10K on transformation

‘I remember writing in my grade school graduation book that I wanted to be a dog and walk outside’

A Japanese man, who spent approximately two million yen (£10,926) on his custom-made collie costume, shared a video of him taking a walk for the first time.

The man, identified only as Toco, hired a Japanese company called Zeppet last year – which is known for creating sculptures and models for movies and commercials – to make the costume.

They took 40 days to create the costume to fulfill Mr Toco's dream of "becoming an animal".

The first video of Toco stepping out in public (Screengrab/ I want to be an animal)

His YouTube channel with over 41,000 subscribers, is filled with videos of him in the collie costume rolling on the floor and playing fetch.

Last month, he posted a video of himself stepping out in public for the first, which left people on the road amused and in awe. The video shows Mr Toco interacting with people and other visibly baffled dogs.

It has garnered over five million views.

According to Mr Toco, the video was filmed last year during an interview with German TV station RTL.

"Thankfully, I received permission to use the videos, so I am releasing them to the public! On the day of the interview, they were very kind to me," he wrote in the description of the video.

Mr Toco previously said he made the costume a collie, his favourite dog, "because it looks real when I put it on".

The dog video has racked up almost five million views (@I_want_to_be_an_animal/YouTube)

“My favorite 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," he told Japanese outlet Mynavi.

Since his videos went viral on social media, Mr Toco has received backlash for his choice to spend money in an effort to look like a dog, while some called it a fetish.

Responding to the comments, Mr Toco said: "I'm just sad that people can think that. I love animals and enjoy play-acting like a collie."

Mr Toco has received backlash for his choice to spend money in an effort to look like a dog (@I_want_to_be_an_animal/YouTube)

"This is my hobby, so I will carry on. It makes me happy and other people happy, too."

Mr Toco in an interview with Mirror revealed that he has been dreaming of transforming into a dog since he was a child.

“Do you remember your dreams from when you are little? You want to be a hero or a wizard,” he asked.

“I remember writing in my grade school graduation book that I wanted to be a dog and walk outside.”