Shiba Inu Kabosu, the face of ‘Doge’ meme and Dogecoin, has died at 18

Shiba Inu Kabosu, the beloved dog who became the face of the popular ‘Doge’ meme and inspired the creation of Dogecoin, has passed away at the age of 18. Kabosu gained worldwide fame in 2013 when a photo of her with a quizzical expression went viral on the internet, sparking a meme that would become one of the most iconic and enduring in internet culture.

Despite her rise to fame as an internet sensation, Kabosu remained a beloved pet to her owner and loyal companion. Her gentle nature and playful demeanor endeared her to millions around the world, who saw her as more than just a meme but as a symbol of joy and positivity.

The Shiba Inu, named Kabosu, “fell into a deep sleep” on Friday morning, Atsuko Sato, a teacher in Japan, said in a blog post.

Kabosu became an internet celebrity after social media users spread a now-famous photo of the rescue dog that Sato posted to her blog in 2010.

Meme-makers slapped rainbow Comic Sans font over Kabosu’s side-eyed look and crossed-paws pose, narrating the pup’s inner dialogue with short, broken phrases like “much wow” or “such happy.”

The popularity of “doge” memes was cemented in December 2013, when Kabosu became the face of alternative cryptocurrency Dogecoin — a tongue-in-cheek response to Bitcoin that reflected the internet’s love of animal memes. Other meme tokens followed, including a shiba inu coin.

Dogecoin counts Elon Musk among its fans. In May 2021, he polled his millions of followers on Twitter on whether Tesla should accept the cryptocurrency as payment.

A month earlier, when cryptocurrencies were seeing a surge in popularity, demand for Dogecoin spiked so much that it briefly broke the cryptocurrency trading system of Robinhood, a stock trading and investing platform.

"She went very peacefully without suffering, as if falling asleep while feeling the warmth of my hands petting her," Sato wrote. "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," Sato added.

In 2021, non-fungible token, or NFT, of Kabosu’s image sold for $4 million. She became famous in her hometown of Sakura, with a bronze statue unveiled earlier this year.

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Sarah H

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