The man, dead set on living a dog’s life, has in a sense literally gone to the dogs. And there’s no stopping him as he pursues his dream with dogged persistence, spending Rs 12 lakh to live it.
Chandigarh: The phrase “It’s a dog’s life” with its origin in 16th century England, paints a bleak and miserable picture of the way dogs lived back in the day. Perhaps that’s what spawned another prevalent and often used saying: “Gone to the dogs” to portray a person’s hopelessly down-in-the-dumps situation.
But now there’s a Japanese man dead set on living a dog’s life and who has in a sense literally gone to the dogs. And there’s no stopping him as he pursues his dream with dogged persistence, so much so that he has spent Rs 12 lakh (2 million Yen) to make this transformation possible and look as real and lifelike as possible.
After months of preparation and self-discovery, the Japanese man, Toco, stunned others as he had his first public walk meeting other people and animals.
He had earlier said that it was his dream to “become and live the life of a dog”.
His transformation into a Collie, a particular breed of sheep dog, was made possible by a professional agency, Zeppet.
The agency provides made-to-order sculptures for movies, commercials, and amusement facilities. It also produces costumes of famous mascot characters seen in Japanese television programmes, according to a local Japanese news outlet news.mynavi.
When news.mynavi. asked Toco in an interview why he chose to become a collie in particular, he said: “I made it my choice because it looks real when I put it on and because Collie is my favorite breed of dog. Besides, since it is a long-haired animal, the costume easily disguises the human form”.
The entire costume is estimated to have cost him over Rs 12 lakh (2 million Yen) and took 40 days to get the makeover done.
In an interview last year, the Daily Mail had asked him why he had opted to become a human dog, he said: “My friends and family seemed very surprised to learn I chose to become an animal. They find it strange that I wish to be a dog”.
He added: “For the same reason, I can’t show my true face. I don’t want my hobbies to be known, especially by people I work with”.
Speaking to the Mirror in a separate interview Toco said: “I rarely tell my friends because I’m afraid they’ll think I’m weird,”
Well, what can you say except that to leave this ‘dog’ alone? Or would it be more appropriate to say that “every dog has his day” – even this one!!!
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