Man who spent more than £12,000 to look like a dog is now looking for a companion

The man who spent more than £12,000 to create a realistic dog costume has revealed he's on the hunt for a companion.

The bloke known only as Toco-san has attracted loads of attention after he opened up about his bizarre hobby.

He would first only wear the outfit at home and would pretend to be a canine by staying in a cage or being walked around on a lead.

However, he ended up going outside to meet other dogs in the park.

It looks like he's ready to take his hobby to the next level.

He said he's looking for a therian, which is a person who feels that they are something other than a human in a non-biological sense.

Toco-san has told KNewz: "I think it would be great if something like this existed. I would like to meet them."

He said he chose to commission a border collie costume because the breed is large enough that it would fit a human.

You certainly couldn't do this with a chihuahua, for example.

"I made it a Collie because it looks real when I put it on," he said via LBC.

"I thought that a big animal close to my size would be good - considering that it would be a realistic model, so I decided to make it a dog."

He's also hit back at people who call his hobby weird.

There's no shortage of comments whenever he posts a new video on YouTube and one person wrote: "You cannot convince me this isn’t some weird sex thing."

Toco-san replied: "I'm just sad that people can think that. I love animals and enjoy play-acting like a collie. This is my hobby, so I will carry on.

"It makes me happy and other people happy, too."

He explained that this fascination with becoming a dog started when he was a child.

"When I fulfilled that dream this is how it turned out. I've wanted to be an animal ever since I can remember," he said in a YouTube video.

"So what was the trigger? It is difficult to answer the question."

As for why he decided to embody a collie, of all creatures, he continued: "The reason for this is because it is my favourite breed and because of its size.

"I am particularly fond of cute quadrupedal animals.

"The fact that the size gap with humans is not large was also a deciding factor."