Toco, the Japanese man who ‘turned into’ dog, is now looking for a partner. | Image: X/zeppetJP
Tokyo: Remember the Japanese man who created a buzz online for spending Rs 12 lakh to ‘become’ a dog? The man named Toco went viral after he posted photos of himself wearing a hyper-realistic collie costume last year. He has said that he is looking for a companion.
Japanese man ‘becomes’ dog
Initially, Toco would wear the dog costume at home and pretend to be a canine by staying in a cage or walking around on a leash. However, he later went outside for a walk to meet other dogs in the park.
Now, the Japanese man is looking for a therian, a person who feels that they are something other than a human in a non-biological sense.
Toco told KNewz, “I think it would be great if something like this existed. I would like to meet them.”
Watch Toco’s going out for his first public walk here!
While many people are amused to see Toco’s transformation into a dog, others troll his bizarre desire.
One person said, “You cannot convince me this isn’t some weird s*x thing.”
To this, Toco replied, “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.”
Also Read: Japanese man who ‘became’ dog says he doesn’t want to live like a dog
Japanese man ‘turned into’ dog
Toco ‘became’ a dog to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming an animal. “My desire to be an animal is like a desire to transform… a desire to be something that I am not,” he earlier told The New York Post.
Toco’s family was surprised by his unusual desire but “received it favourably”. However, he hasn’t told his friends about it as he is afraid that they would think he’s “weird”.
Japanese man’s dog costume
Toco’s dog costume was designed by a professional agency called Zeppet. It took 40 days to make the collie costume.
Zeppet said, “The point is that the skeleton of a dog can be reproduced on the skeleton of a human. Since the structure of the skeleton is very different, we spent a lot of time studying how to make it look like a dog.”
The company added, “In addition, we collect photographs taken from various angles so that the beautiful coat of the collie can be reproduced and devised so that the coat will flow naturally.”