A man who spent a staggering £12,000 to live out his lifelong ambition of transforming into his favourite canine has revealed how others can follow in his footsteps
A man who forked out £12,000 to become a border collie has made a huge announcement to others who want to follow in his footsteps.
Toco the Collie has become a huge star and now others are able to live just like him. The man, who wears the ultra-realistic dog suit he forked out thousands for every day, has now opened his own zoo, where other humans can become animals too.
Toco boats 72,000 subscribers on YouTube where fans watch him do tricks for treats, enjoy walks and interact with another dogs, but now he’s taken it a step further. The new specialised zoo, titled TokoTokoZoo, allows anyone to live out their desire to become an pooch and aims to make people’s “dreams come true”.
Having achieved his lifelong ambition of becoming his favourite canine, Toco now wants to offer others the same opportunity. His new ‘zoo’ gives customers the chance to wear a one of the hyper-realistic dog suits and live just like him in doggy cosplay sessions.
Details of the man’s latest venture have emerged on the new zoo’s website, which reads: “Have you ever wanted to be an animal? Have you ever imagined yourself as something other than yourself and felt excited? We offer a service that can help make that wish come true, even if only a little, by having you wear a costume.”
Despite the excitement, there are some caveats. The only costume option Toco currently offers is an Alaskan Malamute, a large dog breed similar to a Husky. The website gives overview of the costume’s measurements and availability. It also advises customers to reserve the animal outfit of choice 30 days prior to the scheduled business hours, with details of the location only provided once a reservation has been made.
For those who desire to become a Alaskan Malamute, it doesn’t come cheap. It’ll cost 49,000 Yen (£256) to spend 180 minutes as the pooch, and 36,000 Yen (£188) for 120 minutes. If you’d like to bring along a friend, it’s only 30,000 Yen per person (£156) and even cheaper if there’s three of you at just 20,000 Yen (£104).
Included in the package is an explanation of the costume, with a rundown of what the participant would like to do as the animal. You’ll change into the costume, before having a custom fitting and then, it’s showtime. For those who meet a special “body type” measurement, there’s a limited trial plan where two sessions to become an animal are included for only 25,000 Yen (£130).
The experience is located in Tokyo, Japan, but Toco is able to accommodate other languages, including English. The zoo hopes to include more costumes in the future including pandas – but cats and foxes are off limits as they’re “too small for humans to try”.
