👀 This Man Spent $20,000 to Become a Dog

In Today’s Email:

• From “wags” to riches? Man drops $20,000 to be a dog.

• Justice is served - Dog captures convicted murderer.

• “The Squeeze” aka The Internet’s Best Dog News in 60 seconds.

• The Last Laugh: What we’re laughing with. Not at.

Man Spends $20,000 to Become a Dog.

His nickname is “Good Boy.”

A Japanese man is going viral after spending nearly $20,000 on a hyperrealistic costume, so he could fulfill his lifelong dream — of becoming a dog.

A clip of the man masquerading as Lassie has racked up more than 600,000 YouTube views since it was posted in April.

“I made it a collie because it looks real when I put it on,” canine cosplayer Toko-San told local news outlet Mynavi of the furry getup, for which he paid Zeppet — a company that makes costumes for TV commercials and films —a whopping $15,709, Yahoo reported. The final product took 40 days and multiple revisions to create.

Describing his inspiration for becoming his own best friend, Toko-San said, “My favorite is quadrupedal animals — especially cute ones. Among them, I thought that a big animal close to me would be good, considering that it would be a realistic model, so I decided to make it a dog.”

Toko-San said he decided on a collie costume because its long hair can “mislead the human figure” — not to mention that these herding pooches happen to be his favorite breed of dog.

In the aforementioned clip, the ruff rider can be seen in his collie costume waving, rolling over and performing other super naturalistic canine im-paw-sonations like a pooch-parroting Andy Serkis. Other clips show Toko-San playing fetch, snuggling with stuffed animals and, somewhat less realistically, bouncing a ping-pong ball on a paddle. Toko-San also shared photos of his Lass-querade to Twitter with the caption describing how he was “able to fulfill my dream of becoming an animal!”

Perhaps most impressive is the dog costume itself, which looks so realistic it could be CGI. Achieving this effect was no mean feat, as it required Zeppet to tailor the animal costume to the human body.

“The point is that the skeleton of a dog can be reproduced on the skeleton of a human. Since the structure of the skeleton is very different, we spent a lot of time studying how to make it look like a ‘dog,’ ” an unnamed design employee told Mynavi. “In addition, we collect photographs taken from various angles so that the beautiful coat of the collie can be reproduced and devised so that the coat will flow naturally.”

“This is so kawaii [Japanese for cute],” said another.

Needless to say, Toko-San’s transformation sparked a stir on YouTube with one commenter describing, “That’s amazing . . . hats off.”

But this has to also be creepy, right?

“Silliest thing that one can ever commit to,” scoffed one detractor, while another wrote, “This is like a car accident, disturbing but you can’t stop looking.”

Masquerading as man’s best friend might seem ludicrous, however this isn’t the first time someone’s taken their love of animals to the extreme. It is estimated that at least 250,000 people in the US identify as “furries,” a subculture whose members enjoy dressing up as cartoonish animals, sometimes as a sexual fetish but more often as a fun escape.

The concept has gotten so large that there are over 50 “furry” conventions worldwide every year. Convention goers typically attend with lavish outfits and headwear, but none compare to the Toko-San’s investment…

…but hey… for the love of dog, right?

Neighborhood Dog Captures Escaped Prisoner.

“…and I would’ve gotten away with it if it wasn’t for that pesky dog" (for any Scooby Doo fans).

This canine has a nose for justice.

The nine-day manhunt for escaped inmate Michael Burham ended when a Pennsylvania couple’s friendly dog alerted them to the man hiding out near their backyard.

Burham was convicted for murder and escaped prison by tying his bedsheets into a rope.

Local residents Ron and Cynthia Ecklund called police on Saturday and told them about the escaped homicide suspect after their dog, Tucker, began barking at Burham, who was captured at gunpoint after running into the woods.

Cynthia said Tucker, who received a juicy steak for tracking down the alleged killer, alerted her and her husband that something was wrong on Saturday afternoon.

“Our dog was laying out in the sun, and suddenly he jumped up and started to bark and ran toward our creek,” Cynthia told Fox News.

When the dog appeared to ignore the couple’s call for him to return, they figured Tucker was either chasing animals by the creek or greeting a passerby.

The Ecklunds said it was not uncommon for Tucker to also bother local fishermen to play with him, but he would always rush back when they called for him.

When Tucker continued to bark, the couple hopped on their golf cart to investigate, and that’s when they found Burham, shirtless and wearing rolled up pants that were clearly part of an orange prison outfit.

Burnham was being held on 26 counts related to arson, kidnapping and burglary when he escaped Warren County Jail on July 6 by rappelling from the facility’s roof using a rope he had fashioned by tying bedsheets together…

…but none of that matters because he’s back behind bars… because of Tucker, American hero.

Overheard at the bar:

“The Squeeze”: Dog News In 60 Seconds

• 🧶 Arts and crafters unite! We have dog hair that spins into yarn. It’s called “chiengora” and your next sweater needs it.

• ✈️ Carbon footprint? Try carbon paw print. This pooch just took a private plane home after getting lost in Nebraska. We’d get the fluff outta there too 🤷

• ⛏️ Archaeologists just found remains of a chihuahua-sized dog that likely lived 1,800 years ago. Even the Roman era had pets!

• 🇺🇸 President Biden’s dog won’t stop biting people and it’s becoming quite the White House calamity. Even the first dog needs press training…

• 💰 If you think your dog is bougie, think again. This Australian woman takes extravagance to a level you need to see to believe (of course she has photos).

• 🧠 We get it: you think you have the smartest dog. Well, the list is now out, so you can stop with the proud parent moments, Monica…

• 💁‍♀️ It’s a Barbie world and we’re just living in it. Service dogs are also contributing to Barbie-mania, but they may have left their pink at home.

• ❌ Put the phone down! Multitasking is ruining bonding time with our pets (and they notice).

Today’s Last Laugh:

Tears can wait. Ball comes first…

@theycallmebumma

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