MUCH LIFE, SO AMAZE

Iconic ‘Doge’ Meme Dog Kabosu Dies at 18

The dog behind one of the internet’s earliest and longest-lasting memes lives on in bronze memorials, advertising campaigns, and cryptocurrency.

The Japanese Shiba Inu whose derpy expression became one of the most famous early internet memes has died, her owner announced Friday. Kabosu, who skyrocketed to fame in the early 2010s when her image blew up online, passed away peacefully in the arms of her owner, 62-year-old Atsuko Sato of Japan. Sato posted a poem on her blog confirming the news: “She quietly passed away as if asleep while I caressed her,” Sato wrote, according to an AFP translation. “I think Kabo-chan was the happiest dog in the world. And I was the happiest owner.” Kabosu’s image was often used as a reaction to express sarcastic awe, and it was typically accompanied by words like “wow” and “amaze” or grammatically incorrect phrases like “so sleep, much rest.” Her image has graced a non-fungible token that sold for $4 million, spurred its own cryptocurrency, Dogecoin, and inspired a public transit advertising campaign in Sweden. Earlier this year, Kabosu was memorialized in a bronze statue in her home prefecture in Japan. She was 18 years old.