Imagine meeting up with your best friend, but instead of a ‘hey what’s up?’, you get barked at and licked on the side of the face? Then when you serve dinner, he proceeds to eat out of a bowl on the floor? You may think that that the friend in question is actually your pet golden retriever, but in reality this friend is Kaz James, a 37 year-old man who chooses to live his life as a dog.
It all started during Kaz’s childhood, his behaviors started to seem dog-like to him, though his family never talked about it. He felt “weird” around others and was never able to relate to anyone. Then, in his late teens, when his family finally invested in a computer on his farm in Norfolk, he found ‘pup play communities’ in online chatrooms and message boards where he met others like him.
“I didn’t ever feel like a human, I always felt like a dog that was really out of place. I never really had a name for it, being a pup wasn’t a thing I knew about. When I met other people like me I could be myself. I was known by my friends for [saying] hello to them by grabbing hold of the collar of their shirt in my teeth and biting or licking them, very canine-type behaviors.” says Kaz in an interview.
Though Kaz is a store manager, he describes himself as a ‘full-time orange, brown, and camo canine’ and occasionally can be found carrying things around in his mouth, barking at friends, and snacking on dog biscuits (though never dog food). “There are loads of dog treats that you can that are human friendly which are actually quite good for you,” Kaz says of his strange behavior.
Outside of work, Kaz can be found wearing customized rubber suits to help identify him more as a dog. He also occasionally sports masks, chains, harnesses, and a fur suit that cost a little over $2,000 American dollars. Kaz does settle for something a little more casual for work, like a pup t-shirt and maybe a collar
Some outsiders consider this to be some sort of twisted fetich, but Kaz insists his lifestyle is “encompassing”. He also surrounds himself with open minded friends and other pups from his online communities, the same ones that helped him become more confident in who is. Since finding like-minded people, Kaz has also co-founded ‘Kennel Klub, a pup-play event to meet more pup people. “I feel a sense of peace being a human pup. Little things make me happy like eating my dinner out of a bowl using a knife and fork. I don’t eat at peoples’ tables when I go to friends houses. I can be a normal person when I go to a restaurant, I’m trained and can deal with humans, but I don’t like it, it makes me uncomfortable.” And Kaz’s advce to anyone interested in being a pup, “Just give it a try.”
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