"I wanted to be an animal and I became a collie" said Toco who had a realistic costume made

This is the story of a Japanese guy whose name is Toco. He had and still has a lifelong ambition to be an animal. To achieve that goal, he spent about ¥2 million which is about €12,800 to have a costume made specifically for him of a collie dog. It is very realistic and when he wears it in that moment, he becomes a collie dog. You can see him wearing the costume in the video below. 

When I first saw this moving, large collie dog, I thought that it was a robot because it moves rather slowly and clumsily. And then I realised that it was Toco inside the costume. He has a successful YouTube channel with 44,500 subscribers and the video on this page has been seen 6.5 million times approximately.

The video was shot last year when he was interviewed by RTL, a German TV station. It must have been shot by an employee of the German TV station. He obtained permission to use the video and release it to the public. That is why it is on his YouTube channel.

Toco commissioned a Japanese company called Zeppet in 2022 make the costume. The business is known for creating sculptures and models for movies. It took them 40 days to create the costume.

Toco's favourite animals are quadrupedal i.e. with four legs. He decided to have a dog made because he "thought that a big animal close to me would be good, considering that it would be a realistic model."

Toco in his costume with German TV station employee. Image: Euronews.

When he was at school he can remember "writing in my grade school graduation book that I wanted to be a dog and walk outside."

Although his YouTube channel is popular and I am sure that a lot of people love his videos and his character and courage to do this, there appears to be a bit of a backlash from some who've advised him to seek therapy. Some claim that he has a fetish.

He denies that he has a fetish. He said: "I'm just sad that people can think like that. I love animals and enjoy play-acting like a colleague. This is my hobby, so I will carry on. It makes me happy and other people happy, too."

Good for him, I say. It does nobody any harm. It makes him happy. In fact, it makes a lot of people happy as well. He entertains people. Don't criticise him. He has the courage to do what he wanted to do even if is unusual. Not many people actually do that.