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Kabosu, the Dog Behind the ‘Doge’ Meme, Has Died - IGN
Kabosu, the dog behind the ‘doge’ meme, has died at the age of 18, according to her owner.
Kabosu, the dog behind the 'doge' meme, has died at the age of 18, according to her owner. The Japanese shiba inu had been suffering from leukaemia and liver disease.
"To all of you who loved Kabosu, on the morning of the 24 May, Kabosu crossed the rainbow bridge. Thank you all so much for your support over the years," Atsuko Sato, her owner, said in a post on Instagram as well as in a blog post.
"She went very peacefully without suffering, as if falling asleep while feeling the warmth of my hands petting her. Thank you all so much for loving Kabosu all these years. I am certain 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, a teacher in Japan, adopted Kabosu in 2008 when she was sent to an animal shelter after her puppy mill shut down. Kabosu became an internet sensation after a 2010 photo of her posted to Sato's personal blog showing Kabosu appearing to smirk was referred to online as "Doge", an intentional misspelling of dog. The meme itself includes comic sans text that represents an internal monologue deliberately written in broken English.
Doge would go on to inspire a cryptocurrency called Dogecoin which Elon Musk has repeatedly tweeted about — often corresponding with a brief surge in value, and a non-fungible token (NFT) that sold for $4 million.
In December 2022, Sato revealed that Kabosu was seriously sick with cancer and an acute liver disease, saying she was in a "very dangerous condition" after being diagnosed with chronic lymphoma leukemia and acute cholangiohepatitis, which is characterized by an inflamed liver.