Man who lives in £12,000 dog suit could be forced to close 'human zoo'

Toco, the viral dog lover who spent thousands on two hyper-realistic costume, has now shared how his “human zoo” could be shut down for good due to a decline in bookings

A passionate dog lover who spent thousands of pounds on a realistic costume, which transformed him into a border collie, has now uncovered how he may have to cancel his “human zoo” and future events after receiving “no bookings”.

Known as Toco, his peculiar act has gained more than 73,000 followers on YouTube, where he uploads videos featuring his everyday life routine – including being taken on walks and performing tricks for his viewers. Toco’s most recent venture was a human zoo, which offered people the opportunity live out their canine fantasies as a dog – and it was a surprising hit.

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Toco first became famous after his friends shared their concerns on his huge canine investment(Image: Jam Press/@toco.ev)

The TocoTocoZoo had reeled in bookings for several months in advance due to its increasing popularity. However, it appears to have hit a wall as its stream of eager fans have finally dried up.

In an effort to regain traction for his self-featuring zoo, Toco shared a thread of posts on social media, highlighting the zoo’s impending close this June.

Man who went viral for spending £12,000 on a realistic dog costume shares his fears on his “human zoo” shutting down(Image: Jam Press/@toco.ev)

He encouraged loyal fans to book in April or May if they wished to revisit to say a final goodbye. He then shared that May 4 is still open for booking, with no reservations in sight. He shared that if no bookings come through he will have to cancel the open event.

Toco said: “If you are having trouble, please make the reservation!”. In another post, he wrote: “Our opening day is Sunday, May 4, but if we do not receive any reservations by Saturday, April 19, we will close the store,” implying towards a lack of resources or difficulties scheduling.

Toco takes a leap across his dog equipment(Image: Jam Press/@toco.ev)

In his last desperate attempt, Toco pleaded to potential viewers to just make a reservation if they were “thinking about trying it out”. From April 12, there are reported spaces available for the next few weeks.

The zoo offers fans the opportunity to dress up as Toco themselves(Image: Jam Press/@toco.ev)

The unique trip allows people the chance to dress up as an Alaskan Malamute, which cost an estimated £256, for 180 minutes as a realistic pooch. Situated in Tokyo, Japan, the interactive experience only accepts cash but there is talks of allowing other payment options in the future – along with other animal costumes.

Toco outside in his border collie outfit.

Toco has shared that his Tokyo zoo may have to shut early if bookings are not made immediately (Image: Jam Press/@toco.ev)

Toco first made headlines when he spent a huge sum of 2 million yen (£10,600) on his hyper-realistic, custom-made border collie dog costume, becoming Toco, “the human collie”. Reaching fans all the way in the UK, the Japanese dog fanatic could be classed as a ‘furry’, which is an individual member who identifies as part of the furries community.

This collection of fans are deeply fascinated in anthropomorphic animals – fictional animals with human-like characteristics. Members are known for their own creations of furry characters and can be identified costumes often including attachable tails and have come to be expected at larger Comic Con festivals.

Toco has previously shared his lifetime dream of “becoming an animal,” which he achieved in 2022.

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