Chiba, Japan, Friday, May 24, 2024- Kabosu, the Shiba Inu dog whose image became the internet phenomenon known as the “Doge” meme, died Friday morning at the age of 18.
Her owner, Atsuko Sato, a teacher in Japan, announced the news on a blog post, stating Kabosu “fell into a deep sleep.”1
Kabosu had battled health issues in recent years. In 2022, Sato revealed Kabosu’s diagnosis with acute cholangiohepatitis, a liver condition, and chronic lymphoma leukemia, a form of blood cancer.
Kabosu rose to internet fame in 2010 after Sato posted a picture of the rescue dog on her blog. The photo, featuring Kabosu’s tilted head and crossed paws, captured the hearts of social media users.
Meme creators transformed the image, adding rainbow Comic Sans text to represent Kabosu’s inner monologue with phrases like “much wow” and “so doge.” This birthed the now-iconic “Doge” meme, with the misspelling often attributed to the 2005 episode of the animated web series “Homestar Runner.”
Kabosu’s image transcended memes in 2013 with the launch of Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency initially created as a satire on the crypto market.
However, years later, Dogecoin’s value skyrocketed after endorsements from Elon Musk, then the world’s richest person.
Musk joined the online tributes to Kabosu, posting a picture on his social media platform depicting Harambe, another deceased internet meme subject, embracing Kabosu in heaven.
Taking to social media early Friday morning, Elon Musk, a vocal supporter of Dogecoin, acknowledged the passing of Kabosu, the Shiba Inu who inspired the meme.
Musk paid tribute by sharing a meme featuring Kabosu reunited with Harambe, the gorilla from the Cincinnati Zoo who gained internet fame (and tragedy) in 2016.
“OG Doge has ascended to heaven to be with his friend Harambe,” Musk tweeted alongside the meme.((x.com: https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1794022958996033811))
Dogecoin co-creator Billy Markus also honored Kabosu with a collection of photos and videos.
Dogecoin’s price briefly spiked 5% following Musk’s post.
- kabochan.blog.jp: https://kabochan.blog.jp/archives/51831907.html[↩]
