Japanese man who spent £12,000 turning himself into a dog bites back at cruel trolls making fun of his new life as a collie

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Japanese man who spent £12,000 turning himself into a dog bites back at cruel trolls making fun of his new life as a collie

A Japanese man who dresses in his bespoke collie costume has said that online trolls are making fun of his desire to be a dog.

Known only as Toco, the man spent two million Yen – which equates to £12,480 – on a lifelike costume to fulfil his lifelong fantasy of ‘becoming an animal’.

Toco waited for 40 days before the special suits and makeup company Zeppet finished his dog costume and he finally realised his dream.

 

In a pair of surreal videos posted to his YouTube channel ‘I want to be an animal’, Toco is first seen being taken out for a walk on a leash, and is later seen sniffing at other dogs in a park before rolling around on the floor.

Toco has now claimed that he is being bullied online.

One Twitter user said: ‘A Japanese man spent over $20K for this border collie costume. You cannot convince me this isn’t some weird sex thing.

‘Men will literally spend $20,000 to transform into a border collie instead of going to therapy.’

Responding to the comments, Toco said: ‘I’m just sad that people can think that. I love animals and enjoy play-acting like a collie. This is my hobby, so I will carry on. It makes me happy and other people happy, too.’

Toco’s antics were seemingly well-received in the video by passers-by and other dogs, who seemed inquisitive above all else.

But despite having built a cult following, Toco is not yet ready to take off his mask.

Toco told MailOnline in May last year: ‘Ever since I was a small child, I wanted to be an animal. I think it is a desire to transform.

‘I’ve thought about it 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 by the people I work with.’

‘They think it’s weird that I want to be a dog. For the same reason why I can’t show my real face.’