Goodbye Kabosu! Netizens mourn over beloved DOGE's death

Kabosu, the Japanese shibu inu who inspired the dogecoin and was a prominent face of the 'doge' meme, passed away at the age of 18. In a post on X, the official cryptocurrency account wrote, "Today Kabosu, our community's shared friend and inspiration, peacefully passed in the arms of her person. The impact this one dog has made across the world is immeasurable."

Today Kabosu, our community's shared friend and inspiration, peacefully passed in the arms of her person. The impact this one dog has made across the world is immeasurable.

She was a being who knew only happiness and limitless love.

Please keep her spirit and her family in…

— Dogecoin (@dogecoin) May 24, 2024

Kabosu's owner shared news of her demise

Kabosu's owner Atsuko Sato shared the news of her beloved dog's demise on her blog. In a blog titled, "Thank you Pumpkin" she wrote, "She quietly passed away as if asleep while I caressed her." Further, she expressed her feelings saying that Kabo-chan was the happiest dog in the world and she was the happiest owner. She expressed her gratitude towards Kabosu's fans for showering love and affection on her, making her one of the most adored dogs on the internet.

How did Kabosu gain popularity?

In 2010, two years after adopting this rescued dog from a puppy mill, Ms Sato shared a random picture of Kabosu crossing her paws on the sofa. She posted the picture on her blog from where it circulated to other mediums like Reddit and became a meme that spread across the internet. Kabosu's quizzical face picture was used to create visuals in which users photoshopped her face on landmarks, pastries and what not creating hilarious memes that amused internet users across the globe. She also became TIME's 100 Most Influential Animal in 2016 and was voted Meme of The Decade by the website Know Your Meme in 2019. 

The picture received an unfathomable amount of love, so much that it became an NFT digital artwork that sold for $4m and inspired Dogecoin, which was started as a joke by two software engineers namely Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus that features Kabosu in its logo. Later, the unimaginable success of Dogecoin led to the creation of other dog-themed tokens like Shibu Inu (SHIB) and others that have become major sectors of the cryptocurrency industry. 

Netizens mourn, pour in condolences

The netizens have poured in condolences, expressing their love, admiration and affection for everyone's beloved 'doge'.

The Dogecoin dog, Kabosu has passed away. Thanks for everything 🫡

Frens drop a heart for Kabuso 💛 pic.twitter.com/46sL7q9aXR

— Epik.NFT (@EpikNFT) May 24, 2024

$DOGE was my first trade wen I entered crypto in 2021s

and this is how most of the people got started into web3

You will always be remembered as the onboarder Kabuso, RIP🕊️ pic.twitter.com/O7ZIGQslOc

— Gyan🔮 (@gyan_w3b) May 24, 2024

Rest in Peace, Doge 💔

Doge मीम के पीछे का, करोड़ों लोगों के चेहरों पर मुस्कान लाने वाला जापानी कुत्ता काबोसु (kabosu) 18 साल की उम्र में मर गया, लेकिन काबोसु हमेशा ज़िंदा रहेगा। ❤

Miss u kabosu 😥

Kabuso the dog behind this meme died , RIP Doge 💔 pic.twitter.com/LLDfWp7xcU

— Jayesh Jha (@imjayeshjha) May 24, 2024

Well, I've just learnt Kabuso (Doge) has passed away today, i grew up loving them and the many memes online. You will forever live on in all of our hearts ❤️
We lost a real og today.
Fly high 🕊 pic.twitter.com/9MkBDFlbyK

— Solglo ➡️ ToT (@solglokid) May 24, 2024

One of the main inspiration of all this Kabuso. We live because of you🙏🏼 .On behalf of the $DOGE on base community we thank you

Rest easy buddy !! pic.twitter.com/Qi5Jwlrl0L

— Doge on Base (@Doge_on_base_) May 24, 2024