Man who spent $16,000 to 'become a dog' spooks real dogs in the street

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By Asiya Ali

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The man who spent over $16,000 to transform into a dog shared the reaction he gets while out and about in his ultra-realistic costume.

Toco from Japan first hit headlines last year after revealing that he spent almost three million Yen ($16,000) on a custom-made collie costume so that he can achieve his lifelong dream of becoming a dog.

He has a YouTube channel - which goes by the handle @I_want_to_be_an_animal - where he shares daily videos of himself living out his canine fantasy such as learning how to eat, walk, play, and perform tricks.

Toco has now posted a video titled "Dogs and people's reactions to seeing a realistic dog costume" where he shows the responses he gets from people and pups when he's outside in his pooch ensemble.

Watch the video below:

In the bizarre clip, Toco took a stroll in a park where humans gasped at his lifelike getup and were shocked by the fact that he can do tricks.

However, the real dogs seemed less happy to meet him as one could be seen taking an interest, before fleeing and pulling at his leash, while a woman watching explained: "He’s scared. He’s scared."

A few of the other dogs seemed nervous around Toco too, but they were comfortable being picked up by their owners who pose for a photo with the furrily dressed man.

The comments section of the video - which has amassed 21K views - was full of appreciation from fans. One user wrote: "Now this is a unique surprise. I never thought you would go into the public, I'm glad you had a good time."

Another penned: "So amazing. Toco was having fun in public!!", while someone else remarked: "TRULY A UNIQUE WORLD WE LIVE IN, GREAT JOB TOCO !!!"

A fourth added: "Glad to see how happy it made people to see you."

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Credit: YouTube
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Credit: YouTube

As previously reported, Toco revealed that he is worried that his friends will find his dog obsession weird. Speaking to The Mirror, he explained: "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."

Revealing why he's chosen this particular path in life, he said: "Since childhood, I have had this unspecific fantasy of becoming an animal," adding: "I wonder whether it was a desire for transformation."

In terms of picking a breed, he wanted to be a collie because that is his "favorite". He bought the lifelike costume from Zeppet - a Japanese agency that makes sculptures and models for films.

"I thought a big animal close to my size would be good considering that it would be a realistic model, so I decided to make it a dog," he told MailOnline. "There are restrictions, but you can move in it. However, if you move too much, it will not look like a dog."

Although Toco hasn't met anyone else that dresses up like a dog, he hopes "people like me who want to become animals can make that dream come true".

Featured image credit: Kane Skennar / Getty