Publications
Partners
Sit, roll over, play dead – it’s a dog’s life for this Japanese man who’s gone viral after forking out thousands to make his dream of living as a canine come true.
The dog lover, only known as Toko-san, forked out about 2 million yen (R257 000) to have a super-realistic furry costume made of one of his favourite dog breeds: a border collie.
Last month, he posted a video of himself stepping out in public for the first time – which highly amused passers-by and other dogs, who were curious to sniff and inspect him.
"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.
Judging by another video he posted on YouTube, Toko-san seems to be very pleased with the results. On his YouTube channel he can be seen standing on all fours just like a pooch and rolling over onto his back. The clip has already raked in over three million views.
“I made it a collie because it looks real when I put it on,” Toko-san told Japanese news outlet Mynavi about his canine costume.
“My favourite 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.”
READ MORE | Meet Msituni, the adorable baby giraffe who is walking tall thanks to a pair of custom-made braces
"Ever since I was a small child, I wanted to be an animal. I think it is a desire to transform," Toko told Mail Online about his costume last year. "I've thought about it since I can remember."
It took Zeppet, a Japanese company that creates costumes and sculptures for films and adverts, about 40 days to make the outfit that would transform him into a Lassie-lookalike. They made several versions before their customer was happy.
“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,” a company employee says, adding that they used dozens of photographs of collies as a reference.
While some may find the whole thing rather bizarre, it’s believed that hundreds of thousands of animal lovers around the world enjoy dressing up as furry pets.
“Furries are fans, just like anyone else,” says Courtney Plante, professor of psychology at Bishop’s University in Canada. “Whenever we see someone acting in an unusual way, we have an innate need to try and understand why they’re doing that.”
READ MORE | This cat survived a 700km journey after being stuck inside the neighbour’s car
Furries are people who have an active interest in animal characters with human characteristics.
“They’re fans of films, stories and artwork that feature animals [that] walk, talk, and do human things,” Courtney told Women’s Health.
However, the online community has been divided on Toko-san’s getup, with some calling it “kawaii” [Japanese for cute], while others think it ludicrous.
"I'm just sad that people can think that. I love animals and enjoy play-acting like a collie," he said. "This is my hobby, so I will carry on. It makes me happy and other people happy, too."
Nonetheless, Toko-san is thrilled at how everything has turned out.
“I was able to fulfil my dream of becoming an animal!” he wrote on Twitter.
SOURCES: NYPOST.COM, WOMENSHEALTHMAG.COM, EXPRESS.CO.UK, DAILYMAIL.CO.UK
