Kabosu, the internet-famous dog who influenced digital culture for a decade and created the “doge” meme, is gravely ill with leukaemia and liver problems.
According to a series of Instagram photos by her owner Atsuko Sato, a kindergarten teacher in Sakura, Japan, the 17-year-old shiba inu stopped eating and drinking freely on Christmas Eve and has been diagnosed with acute cholangiohepatitis and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.
Although Sato reported that Kabosu’s appetite had returned, she had earlier written on her blog that the dog was moving less and more slowly.
Kabosu became one of the most iconic animals on the internet after a 2010 photograph of her posing with folded paws and a perplexed expression went viral on Reddit, Tumblr, and 4Chan, overlaid with a made-up interior monologue in bad English and Comic Sans typography. Internet users quickly began photoshopping the visage of Kabosu onto pastries, monuments, and other animals. Later, corporations like Oreo and Stockholm’s subway adopted the trend.
In December 2013, two programmers launched a new cryptocurrency called Dogecoin as a tongue-in-cheek answer to Bitcoin that reflected the internet’s fascination with animal memes. Its value peaked at over $400 in 2014, and it is considered the first “meme coin” or cryptocurrency parody.
Dogecoin sponsored England’s Watford Football Club, with Kabosu’s visage appearing on the sleeves of the team’s uniform. Elon Musk is a fan.
In the 2020s, various shiba inu-related memes gained prominence, such as the North Atlantic Fellas Organisation, a pro-Ukrainian social media movement committed to criticising Russia’s war effort and opposing disinformation.
After raising donations for the Ukrainian military, the Ministry of Defense posted a photo of a shiba inu wearing fatigues to express gratitude.
In her most recent posts about Kabosu, Sato stated that the dog was “in a very perilous condition” and seemed jaundiced, but was also receiving antibiotics. She also praised Kabosu’s followers for their support, stating that she is “receiving power from everywhere!”
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