Japanese man who paid 11.67 lakh to “Transform” into a dog fails agility test

A Japanese man was recently in the news for spending around $14,000 (Rs 11.67 lakh) on a realistic collie costume to fulfill his dream of ‘becoming a dog.’ He did this because he loves animals. While the man refused to share his real name, he is recognized as Toco. Now, the man has again captured the attention of the internet after taking on a Crufts-style agility course.

Toco has his own YouTube channel by the name of I Want to Be an Animal, where he regularly posts clips that show him going for dog walks, eating dog food, and learning new tricks. Toco’s latest adventure involves the canine enthusiast trying to leap over a set of hurdles in a garden.

Toco posted a series of photos to Instagram showing him in the collie costume, falling on the ground with a pole hitting the hurdle pole, and generally failing the test. “When you become a dog, you want to try agility, don’t you?” he wrote in the post’s description.

Users of the photo- and video-sharing app responded to the post. “I think he might be a Therian—a strange one, but a Therian nonetheless,” remarked one of the users. “Therians need to step up; he’s committed to that identity,” stated a different person. Interestingly, Therian is defined as “someone who identifies as a non-human earthen animal either spiritually or psychologically” in the Urban Dictionary.

“What matters is that he tried his best,” said another Instagram user. Another person made the joke, “Whoa, you are brave! That had to have been really challenging! Your small crash-land pictures are really cute!

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Toco’s costume was created and manufactured by Zeppet, a well-known business that creates costumes for movies and TV shows. According to the person who designed the custom-made collie suit, it took about 40 days to turn the idea into a reality.