Japanese man spent 20K to become a dog

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A Japanese man who spent more than $20,000 to become a dog has finally taken his first walk and immediately made some canine friends.

Known only as Toco, the man spent two million Yen (A$22,000) on a hyperrealistic border collie costume to fulfil his lifelong dream of “becoming an animal”.

In recent updates shared with his almost 30,000 YouTube subscribers, Toco was seen playing in his backyard on all fours and performing tricks in exchange for treats.

But now he has ventured into public for the first time to reveal his new look.

In a pair of surreal videos posted to his YouTube channel ‘I want to be an animal’, Toco was seen being taken out for a walk on a leash, sniffing at other dogs in a park and rolling around on the floor.

Toco’s grand debut — which was captured while he was filming a segment for a German TV station — seemed to be well-received by passers-by and other dogs, who appeared curious. It wasn’t clear whether they realised Toco wasn’t a natural-born 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.

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