A Japanese man who fulfilled his dream of becoming a dog by paying a large sum of money finally took his first walk outside dressed as a bespoke collie, New York Post reported.
The man, who is known only as Toco, spent two million Yen (A$22,000) on a “life-sized” and hyperrealistic costume of the collie — which he said is his favourite breed of dog.
In recent updates shared on his YouTube, which has over 30,000 subscribers, Toco can be seen playing in his backyard in the costume while performing tricks in exchange for treats.
And now, for the first time ever, he has gone outside in public with his new look and also made new friends.
In one of the videos on his YouTube channel, Toco is seen being taken outside for a walk on a leash. He could also be seen sniffing at other dogs in a park and rolling around on the floor.
Toco’s walk was well-received by other dogs and passers-by in the video. However, it was unknown whether they knew that he wasn’t a real dog.
“I became a collie, fulfilling a dream I had since I was a little child to be an animal!” subtitles at the beginning of the video read.
Toco’s reason for hiding his identity is that he doesn’t want to be judged by people he knows.
“I don’t want my hobbies to be known, especially by the people I work with,” he told the Daily Mail last year.
“They think it’s weird that I want to be a dog. For the same reason why I can’t show my real face.”
Speaking to the Mirror in another interview, he said: “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.”
In one of the videos of his first walk in his backyard, Toco said he felt “nervous and a little scared”.
“I’m very nervous,” he said in the video.
The man commissioned a professional agency named Zeppet and asked it to make him a costume of a collie. The company took 40 days to make the costume.
