How old was Kabosu, the dog behind the ‘Doge’ meme, when she died?

Today marks a very dark day in human history – sadly, Kabosu, the dog behind the iconic “Doge” meme has passed away.

The tragic news was shared by Kabosu’s owner via a blog post made on Friday May 24th. The iconic photo of Kabosu was taken in 2010 and it would go on to spawn an entire sub-genre of memes that centered around the Shiba-Inu and other similar looking dogs. Another Shiba Inu who rose to meme status around the same time was Cheems, who also passed away not too long ago.

The Doge character really became popular around 2013 with numerous images created and shared using the 2010 photo which must have been seen by millions upon millions of internet denizens by now. If you’re somehow unfamiliar with the meme it features the 2010 image known to many as “Doge” along with broken English text that usually says something humorous.

The meme became so big that Doge went on to become an official cryptocurrency in 2013. Originally only intended to be a joke, some people now see “Dogecoin” as a legitimate investment. At one point, Elon Musk, owner of the wonderful site known as X (formerly Twitter), seemingly endorsed the coin, driving up price before letting it crash. He’s now currently fighting a lawsuit worth $258 million for this. 

Anyways, now you know the cultural impact that this little dog Japan has had on the world as a whole, and why today is such a sad day. In a post to Instagram from a few years ago, Kabosu’s mother expressed her shock at how popular her dog had become.

“Never in a million years would I have imagined the impact that my photoshoot of Kabosu would have on the internet. It’s a moment that’s evolved and taken on a life of its own over the last decade.”

How old was Kabosu when she died?

Despite the bad news today, you’ll be pleased to know that Kabosu was able to live a very long life for a dog. According to her owner, she was around 17 or 18 years old at the time of her passing – her exact age is difficult to determine due to her being a rescue. Snippets of the famous dog’s life were frequently shared on a blog as well as on social media, and it seems pretty clear that Kabosu not only had a long life, but a great life as well. Her Instagram is filled with pics of her in her twilight years on walks in the sunny park and meeting other doggos despite her age.

Although it seems short, the average lifespan of a Shiba Inu is around 12-15 years, so Kabosu lived well past the age most dogs do and it further solidifies that fact that she clearly had a very caring owner to be able to live for so long.

Kabuso’s parents are holding a funeral for the legendary pup at the Narita City Public Hall on Sunday, May 26th between 1:00 and 4:00 pm according to their blog. While she may be gone, she will live on in the hearts of all the people she she touched with her silly memes all over the world.