Kabosu, Shiba Inu Behind Doge Meme, Passes Away At 18

TV & Film

May 28

Memes come and go pretty fast these days, but there are a rare few that truly stick with us. One of these memes is a picture of a Shiba Inu named Kabosu, or as she became better known as, “Doge.” Unfortunately, the real-life dog behind the image passed away on May 24th at the age of 18.

In 2010, a Japanese kindergarten teacher by the name of Atsuko Sato posted a picture of her dog, Kabosu, with a side-eyed, quizzical look. She then uploaded the image onto her blog. However, it would not stay contained there for long, as it soon spread throughout the internet. Often, it would be paired with text in a Comic Sans font saying variations on “wow,” “much wow,” or other phrases describing the dog’s inner thoughts in broken English. Thus, the doge (pronounced “dohj”) meme was born. Variants of the meme even began to appear, such as “Liquidfied Doge,” which features Kabosu’s face on various other animals, and “ironic doge,” which features the doge character in ironic and uncharacteristic situations. Sato was confused by the meme but appreciated the joy it brought others.

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"To be honest, some pictures are strange for me, but it's still funny!” Sato said in an article by The Verge “I'm very impressed with their skills and taste. Around me, nobody knows about the Doge meme. Maybe I don't understand memes very well, because I'm living such an analog life."

Kabosu was adopted by Sato from an animal shelter in 2008. She was one of 19 pedigreed dogs from a puppy mill that had closed down. Some were adopted, but the rest were unfortunately euthanized. Kabosu lived a long and happy life and left this world peacefully according to her owner.

"She quietly passed away as if asleep while I caressed her," Sato wrote in a blog post, "I think Kabo-chan was the happiest dog in the world. And I was the happiest owner."

Kabosu will be remembered fondly for the wonder, joy, and “wow” her face spread throughout the internet for 14 years.

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