By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 12:22 EST, 23 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:46 EST, 23 October 2013 . Like many other dogs, Boomer loves nothing more than roaming his neighborhood, barking at passing cars and fellow canines before returning home for a bowl of biscuits and a nap in his kennel. The only difference is that Boomer was born a human. Gary Matthews, 47, has been living the life of a playful pooch for years - donning a white-and-grey costume made from paper with an over-sized collar proudly displaying his new name. This summer, Boomer welcomed National Geographic's Taboo USA to his home in Pittsburgh to look at his life as a 'furry' - people interested in animals with human personalities or characteristics. Scroll down for video . Living ruff: Gary Matthews, pictured left and right, believes he is a dog and goes by the name of Boomer. When he is not wearing his homemade dog costume, left, he ties his hair into 'ears' and wears a collar, right . Matthews adopted the persona after watching the NBC hit show 'Here's . Boomer', which is about a stray dog who travels the world to help people, when he was a child. In an interview with Vice three years ago, he described having a 'transformation' in 1979 after he headed inside after a hot day and laid on the basement floor to cool down. 'I had this waking dream of actually transforming into a dog,' he explained. 'It felt like I was stuck in the floor because I was really into the whole emotion of changing into a dog. 'And I laid there for like 15 minutes, thinking about how I would break it to my parents about how I had transformed. It was like, wow, that was a turning point moment for me.' Watch video from WPXI: . Proud: Boomer dons his paper suit and walks around the community, where people call him by his dog name . Dinner time: A video on YouTube shows Boomer eating dog food from a bowl on the floor . He now eats dog food, slurps water from bowls on the floor and sleeps in an indoor doghouse fitted with a bed - which he insists is much more comfortable than a human bed. He doesn't wear his full costume at all times; when he wakes up in the morning, he ties his long hair into two bunches atop his head - for 'ears' - and wears a smaller collar around his neck. And when he leaves the house, he carries a squeaky toy under his arm. In 2010, he tried to legally change his name to Boomer the Dog but a judge refused, claiming that the change could 'put the public welfare at risk'. Ronald W. Folino, an Allegheny County judge, said it could cause 'confusion in the marketplace' and that it could prove problematic if Matthews was required as a witness to a crime. 'Consider the following example,' Judge Folino wrote, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. A dog's life: Boomer stands outside his house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he lives alone . Inspired: He explained that he loved the TV show 'Here's Boomer' and felt his transformation to a dog in the 70s . 'Petitioner witnesses a serious automobile accident and telephones for an emergency medical response. The dispatcher on the phone queries as to the caller's identity, and the caller responds, "This is Boomer the Dog". It is not a stretch to imagine the telephone dispatcher concluding that the call is a prank and refusing to send an emergency medical response.' Boomer, who is an unemployed IT . technician, explained that his friends, family and neighbors still call . him by his dog name - which he puts down to being open about his dog . persona since childhood. He told Vice that he has had a lot more positive responses than negatives ones, but he has yet to meet a 'puppy girl' who shares his obsession. National Geographic explains there are other people like Boomer living as furries, a subculture that was first recognized . in the United States in the 1980s. Furries celebrate anthropomorphic animals with human characteristics including high . intelligence, the ability to speak and walk on two legs, among others.
Gary Matthews, 47, has believed he is a dog since childhood .
He now sleeps in a doghouse, eats dog food from a bowl on the floor and barks at passersby and other dogs .
He is a 'furry' - people who are interested in animals with human personalities and characteristics .
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 12:22 EST, 23 October 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 16:46 EST, 23 October 2013 . Like many other dogs, Boomer loves nothing more than roaming his neighborhood, barking at passing cars and fellow canines before returning home for a bowl of biscuits and a nap in his kennel. The only difference is that Boomer was born a human. Gary Matthews, 47, has been living the life of a playful pooch for years - donning a white-and-grey costume made from paper with an over-sized collar proudly displaying his new name. This summer, Boomer welcomed National Geographic's Taboo USA to his home in Pittsburgh to look at his life as a 'furry' - people interested in animals with human personalities or characteristics. Scroll down for video . Living ruff: Gary Matthews, pictured left and right, believes he is a dog and goes by the name of Boomer. When he is not wearing his homemade dog costume, left, he ties his hair into 'ears' and wears a collar, right . Matthews adopted the persona after watching the NBC hit show 'Here's . Boomer', which is about a stray dog who travels the world to help people, when he was a child. In an interview with Vice three years ago, he described having a 'transformation' in 1979 after he headed inside after a hot day and laid on the basement floor to cool down. 'I had this waking dream of actually transforming into a dog,' he explained. 'It felt like I was stuck in the floor because I was really into the whole emotion of changing into a dog. 'And I laid there for like 15 minutes, thinking about how I would break it to my parents about how I had transformed. It was like, wow, that was a turning point moment for me.' Watch video from WPXI: . Proud: Boomer dons his paper suit and walks around the community, where people call him by his dog name . Dinner time: A video on YouTube shows Boomer eating dog food from a bowl on the floor . He now eats dog food, slurps water from bowls on the floor and sleeps in an indoor doghouse fitted with a bed - which he insists is much more comfortable than a human bed. He doesn't wear his full costume at all times; when he wakes up in the morning, he ties his long hair into two bunches atop his head - for 'ears' - and wears a smaller collar around his neck. And when he leaves the house, he carries a squeaky toy under his arm. In 2010, he tried to legally change his name to Boomer the Dog but a judge refused, claiming that the change could 'put the public welfare at risk'. Ronald W. Folino, an Allegheny County judge, said it could cause 'confusion in the marketplace' and that it could prove problematic if Matthews was required as a witness to a crime. 'Consider the following example,' Judge Folino wrote, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. A dog's life: Boomer stands outside his house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he lives alone . Inspired: He explained that he loved the TV show 'Here's Boomer' and felt his transformation to a dog in the 70s . 'Petitioner witnesses a serious automobile accident and telephones for an emergency medical response. The dispatcher on the phone queries as to the caller's identity, and the caller responds, "This is Boomer the Dog". It is not a stretch to imagine the telephone dispatcher concluding that the call is a prank and refusing to send an emergency medical response.' Boomer, who is an unemployed IT . technician, explained that his friends, family and neighbors still call . him by his dog name - which he puts down to being open about his dog . persona since childhood. He told Vice that he has had a lot more positive responses than negatives ones, but he has yet to meet a 'puppy girl' who shares his obsession. National Geographic explains there are other people like Boomer living as furries, a subculture that was first recognized . in the United States in the 1980s. Furries celebrate anthropomorphic animals with human characteristics including high . intelligence, the ability to speak and walk on two legs, among others.
was born a human. Gary Matthews, 47, has been to look at his life as a 'furry' - people interested in animals with human personalities or believes he is a dog and goes by the name of food from a bowl on the floor . He now eats dog persona since childhood. He told Vice that he has