Kabosu, Shiba Inu behind 'doge' meme and face of Dogecoin, has died

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FILE – This picture taken on March 19, 2024, shows a painting of Japanese shiba inu dog Kabosu, best known as the logo of cryptocurrency Dogecoin, at the home of her owner Atsuko Sato in Sakura, Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo. (Photo by PHILIP FONG/

TOKYO – Kabosu, the Japanese Shiba Inu whose slight, side-eyed look in an image turned into an iconic “doge” internet meme and later became the face of a cryptocurrency, has died, according to the dog’s owner.

The dog’s owner, Atsuko Sato, confirmed the news on Friday in a poem published on her blog.

“She quietly passed away as if asleep while I caressed her,” Sato wrote, according to a translation by the AFP news agency. 

“I think Kabo-chan was the happiest dog in the world. And I was the happiest owner,” Sato added.

Kabosu’s real birthday was unknown, but Sato estimated her age at 18 – past the average lifespan for the Shiba Inu breed, according to AFP.

FILE – This picture taken on March 19, 2024, shows Atsuko Sato and her Japanese shiba inu dog Kabosu, best known as the logo of cryptocurrency Dogecoin, playing with students at a kindergarten in Narita, Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo. (Photo by PHI

In 2010, Sato took a picture of her dog crossing her paws on the sofa with a somewhat quizzical look, AFP reported. 

She posted the image on her blog, from where it was later shared more widely across the internet and inspired popular memes. The memes, characterized by broken English in Comic Sans font, were typically used to share the inner thoughts of the Shiba Inu “doge,” pronounced “dohj.”

The picture also later became an NFT digital artwork that sold for $4 million and inspired the cryptocurrency Dogecoin, AFP reported. 

FILE – Dogecoin with a market capitalization of $31 billion, Suqian, Jiangsu Province, on March 30, 2024. (Photo credit: CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

Dogecoin was started as a joke by two software engineers in 2013 and has now become the eighth-most valuable cryptocurrency with supporters such as billionaire Elon Musk, according to the outlet. 

Dogecoin paid tribute to Kabosu on X.

“The impact this one dog has made across the world is immeasurable,” it wrote in part. “She was a being who knew only happiness and limitless love.”

This story was reported from Cincinnati.

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