If You See This Walking Down the Street, Don’t Approach – It’s Not a Dog

If you see a strange collie making its way down the sidewalk, it's best to gain some distance from the strange spectacle -- it might not be a dog at all. While it may appear to be some sort of skinwalker, it might actually just be a man in a realistic canine costume. This is doubly true if you're traveling in Japan. There, a man known only as "Toco" makes it a habit to travel outdoors wearing a realistic collie suit. Recently, his first disturbing "walk" in public is gaining serious attention. Last year, it was revealed that Toco purchased the bizarre canine suit for more than $15,000. Unfortunately for the general public, Toco is more than willing to openly play pretend with the suit. Video from a German TV station taken last year, reuploaded to Toco's YouTube account on July 21, shows how the wannabe pooch "went out on the town." [firefly_embed] https://youtu.be/MA4UhxfTwVk [/firefly_embed] The video currently has close to 3 million views. It's not hard to see why -- Toco's behavior is beyond bizarre. From sniffing at real dogs to rolling over for people, it's clear Toco wants to put on a show. Nobody knows exactly who this is or why he does it, but Toco has admitted he is afraid of telling his friends because they might think he's weird. Judging by the media this canine aficionado has published so far, this seems to be a perfectly valid fear. Toco's other videos show his other disturbing attempts at mimicking man's best friend. In one, he begs as a dog would, to go outside before being leashed and walked by the obliging cameraman. 犬になって外を散歩してみました！ I became a dog and took a walk outside! pic.twitter.com/uSeU6uImuu

— トコ（toco） (@toco_eevee) June 27, 2023 Toco's profile on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter showcases even more of the disturbing cross-species roleplay. To be clear, Toco may be a perfectly safe and harmless person who just happens to have an incredibly unorthodox hobby. At the very least, he would likely need a stable career to afford the dog suit and any other canine accouterment. While he may be a model citizen, it's still perfectly fine to steer clear of a man in a dog suit.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal .