Mourning on the Internet

World-famous as the “Doge” meme: Bitch Kabosu is dead

This photo of the Shiba Inu dog Kabosu has become a legendary meme.

(Bild: Atsuko Sato)

The internet is in mourning: female dog "Kabosu" has died in Japan at the ripe old age of 18. The image of the Shiba-Inu Kabosu went viral as a meme in 2010 and also became the face of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin in 2013.

The owner of the meme dog broke the sad news on Friday. "On the morning of May 24, Kabosu crossed the Rainbow Bridge," wrote Atsuko Sato from Japan on Instagram (see post below). Her dog had fallen asleep peacefully without suffering "while she felt the warmth of my caressing hands".

She thanked the internet fan community "for loving Kabosu all these years. I'm sure Kabosu was the happiest dog in the world," said Atsuko. This makes her the happiest dog owner in the world.

Becoming an immortal meme as a "Doge"
In 2010, the kindergarten teacher from the city of Sakura near Tokyo took pictures of her pet, which she had just taken from the animal shelter, and published them on her blog. One of them, in which "Kabosu" looks inquisitively sideways into the camera, soon became a meme. The photo of the dog, known as "Doge" - a distorted form of "Dog" - was often combined with text in equally distorted English and was widely shared on social networks and internet forums and became the basis for many jokes. There are also countless adaptations of the image.

The digital currency "Dogecoin", founded in 2013, took its name and logo from the meme. Elon Musk caused a stir last year when he replaced the well-known Twitter bird with the Dogecoin logo - without explanation. The value of the currency rose sharply for a short time as a result.

On X, as Twitter is now called, the "Dogecoin" team expressed its grief over the death of the dog. "The impact this dog had on the whole world is immeasurable," one post read. "We have all been lucky that her story has touched and shaped ours."

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Reached old dog age
Until her death, "Kabosu" was lovingly cared for by her owner. At 18 years old, the Shiba Inu dog reached a particularly old age - in humans, this corresponds to an age of around 90 years. The life expectancy for this breed is 12-15 years.