Kabosu, the beloved Shiba Inu who became the face of the Doge meme, has passed away after years of putting a smile on the faces of internet users.
At the age of 18, the adorable pooch shut her eyes forever at 7:50 a.m. on Friday, according to her pet parent, Atsuko Sato.
“To all of you who loved Kabosu. On the morning of the 24th of May, Kabosu crossed the rainbow bridge. Thank you all so much for your support over the years," read a post on social media.
Highlights
- Kabosu, the Shiba Inu behind the Doge meme, passed away at age 18, on May 24, 2024
- Kabosu was rescued from an animal shelter in 2008 after being abandoned by a shuttered puppy mill
- Kabosu's expressive face became iconic in the Doge meme, inspiring posts on Reddit, Tumblr, and other platforms
- Fans mourned her loss and many posted social media tributes
The 62-year-old pet-lover said the Japanese dog passed away while receiving warm pets from her.
Kabosu, the world-famous Shiba Inu, passed away Friday morning with her pet parent, Atsuko Sato, beside her
Image credits: Own The Doge
“She went very peacefully without suffering, as if falling asleep while feeling the warmth of my hands petting her,” the caption continued. “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.”
Atsuko adopted the furry friend from an animal shelter in 2008 and saved her from being killed after the shutters of her puppy mill were brought down.
The furry friend, who became an internet sensation with the doge meme, "went very peacefully without suffering"
Image credits: kabosumama
"She was a pedigreed dog from a puppy mill, and when the puppy mill closed down, she was abandoned along with 19 other Shiba dogs," the teacher told Verge in a 2013 interview. "Some of them were adopted, but the rest of them were killed."
Since then, Kabosu has been the pet parent’s loyal companion even after skyrocketing to fame in 2010.
The Shiba Inu’s expressive face turned into the iconic Doge meme and became fodder for posts on Reddit, Tumblr, and other social media platforms.
The kindergarten teacher adopted Kabosu from an animal shelter in 2008
The canine’s big bright eyes and adorable smirk captured the hearts of millions across the world and are now forever etched in meme history.
Social media users would attach her internet-famous face to broken English sentences like "Wow. So scare," "Very amaze," and "What r u doing?"
The doge meme also led to the 2013 creation of Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency with Kabosu’s face as the logo.
The Twitter handle for Dogecoin posted a message about the dog having "peacefully passed in the arms of her person"
She "is very different from the typical temperament of Shiba," Kabosu’s mama said in the Verge interview. "She’s very gentle and calm; she loves being photographed."
The health of the tail-wagging internet star deteriorated in recent years. The pooch had been diagnosed with acute cholangiohepatitis and chronic lymphoma leukemia, Atsuko revealed in 2022.
The canine’s big bright eyes and adorable smirk captured millions of hearts and will forever be etched in meme history
Following her death, the teacher revealed that a “farewell party” would be held for the lovely Shiba Inu.
Fans flooded the bereaved teacher’s post with messages of grief over Kabosu’s death.
“I dreaded this day. Kabosu was a wonderful dog. The Doge meme was what got me into meme culture when I was a kid,” one fan wrote. “While everyone else had normal profile pictures of themselves on Facebook, from 2014-2016 mine was always an image of the Doge meme, because I just really loved that photo. R.I.P. Kabosu. Thank you for all the joy you've given us for so many years.”
Atsuko Sato said a "farewell" party will be held for the beloved dog on Sunday
“Rest in peace, boss. You’ve done well,” one wrote, while another said, “Rest in peace doge you will live forever in our hearts! A true legend by all accounts and a very good girl.”
Another wrote, “Kabosu could not have asked for a better owner. Thank you for sharing your silly little Shiba with us for all these years.”
The Japanese dog has been the subject of many legendary internet moments, including the one where Tesla founder Elon Musk changed the icon of Twitter, now X, to her face last year.
Elon Musk was also a Kabosu-fan and also featured in a viral meme with her a couple of years back
Image credits: old_soon
The most well-known template of the Kabosu-inspired doge memes would include fragmented sentences, written in Comic Sans font with well-known words like “so” and “such” commonly appearing.
“So scare” and “such dapper” are some of the phrases that would hover around the Shiba Inu dog's face
Image credits: Doge_France
"To be honest, some pictures are strange for me, but it’s still funny! I’m very impressed with their skills and taste," Atsuko admited in her 2013 interview. "Around me, nobody knows about the doge meme. Maybe I don’t understand memes very well, because I’m living a such an analog life."
Kabosu's memorable face and hilarious memes have cemented her firmly in the animal hall of fame
Image credits: old_soon
Animal memes have evolved over the years, with a number of dog-themed pictures building up the "doge" brand of content on social media platforms. One such series of memes is the Swole Doge vs. Cheems joke format. Some of the best memes to come out of this trend are the ones below.
The dog featured in the Swole Doge vs. Cheems joke format is another widely recognized Shiba Inu dog, popularly known as known as Pup Balltze
Image credits: minPD0309
Balltze was also known as Ball Ball and was famed online for being the cheeseburger-loving dog
Image credits: reddit.com
The Swole Doge vs. Cheems series was inspired by chubby Balltze and is one of the most well-known meme trends
Image credits: minPD0309
Balltze's face in the Swole Doge vs. Cheems spread like wildfire as it poked fun at a variety of things
Image credits: reddit.com
The Swole Doge on the left would represent a job, technology, or any other phenomenon from the past while Cheems on the right would depict the current reality
Image credits: reddit.com
Fans bid goodbye to Balltze last year as he passed away at the age of 12 due to cancer
Image credits: reddit.com
His pet parent, Kathy, said in August, 2023, that her lovable Ball Ball underwent thoracentesis surgery but never woke up
Image credits: reddit.com
Originally named Balltze, people named the pooch Cheems "because they think he looks like cheese," his website said
Image credits: reddit.com
Kathy had posted a picture of Balltze in 2019, and it turned into the popular Cheems dog that represented a wide range of content for an entire generation
Image credits: reddit.com
"He is now playing happily in doggo heaven," his website now says, and we think Kabosu is probably chasing after him there
Image credits: reddit.com
After Kabosu's death, fans agreed that she will "live on in [their] hearts" forever
