Kabosu, the internet-famous Shiba Inu who came to define the wildly popular 'doge' meme, has died at the age of 18.
Kabosu’s owner, Atsuko Sato, said her dog died — “crossed the rainbow bridge” — Friday, May 24. “She went very peacefully without suffering, as if falling asleep while feeling the warmth of my hands petting her,” Sato said. “Thank you all so much for loving Kabosu all these years. I am certain that Kabosu was the happiest dog in the world. That makes me the happiest owner in the world. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to everyone who has sent us much love to us.
Around the same time, the “doge” meme format was taking root, with people pairing goofy dog pictures with off-kilter comic sans text, like “much wow” or “very pet.” While one of the earliest doge posts on Reddit was of a Corgi, over the years, Shiba Inus became the face of the meme, thanks in part to the popular Tumblr blog, Shiba Confessions. By 2013, the meme format had exploded in popularity, and Sato’s 2010 photo of Kabosu was its defining image.
Like many meme formats, “doge” burned blindingly bright. First came the delightfully nonsensical photoshop, like Kabosu’s head on a loaf of bread or a Twinkie; then politicians started glomming onto the meme format; aeven launched, dogecoin, with Kabosu’s face plastered on the digital currency; and finally came the ironic shitpost spin-offs to officially complete the cycle.
Still, she gamely leaned into the doge-of-it-all, even marking Kabosu’s birthday, Nov. 2, as “Doge Day.” Along with providing a long, happy life for Kabosu, she also hoped his fame would bring more awareness to animal shelters and puppy mills. “I’d like to give back to them somehow, helping those abandoned animals,” Sato said. “It’ll be nice that Kabosu can play that role.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Palm Dog: Kodi, star of 'Dog on Trial,' is the top dog of CannesThe canine star of “Dog on Trial” has been awarded the Palm Dog prize at Cannes. Kodi is a griffon mix who plays Cosmos in the Swiss comedy-drama. The dog narrowly beat sighthound Xin who instead wagged away with the Grand Jury Prize for the Chinese drama “Black Dog.” The Palm Dog awards aren’t officially a part of the Cannes Film Festival.
Read more »
Palm Dog: Kodi, star of 'Dog on Trial,' is the top dog of CannesThe canine star of “Dog on Trial” has been awarded the Palm Dog prize at Cannes.
Read more »
Palm Dog: Kodi, star of 'Dog on Trial,' is the top dog of CannesThe canine star of “Dog on Trial” has been awarded the Palm Dog prize at Cannes.
Read more »
Palm Dog: Kodi, star of 'Dog on Trial,' is the top dog of CannesThe canine star of “Dog on Trial” has been awarded the Palm Dog prize at Cannes.
Read more »
Kabosu, the dog behind the 'doge' internet meme, has diedPatrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.
Read more »
Kabosu, internet sensation dog that inspired meme and Dogecoin, has died, her owner saysThe Japanese shiba inu dog that became an internet sensation and inspired a $23-billion cryptocurrency has died, her owner says.
Read more »