Shiba Inu, who became the face of the meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin, died on May 24 at the age of 17.
His owner Atsuko Sato announced the news on her official blog (via Cointelegraph), expressing their deep gratitude for the love and support Kabosu had shown over the years. The crypto community and Kabosu’s fans expressed their condolences by sharing memories of the dog who became an internet legend.
Kabosu first gained attention in 2010 when Sato took him from a shelter and posted photos on her blog. One of the images, with a surprised and somewhat skeptical expression on the shiba-inu’s face, went viral as a meme with phrases in broken English.
By 2013, the meme was gaining popularity, and later Kabosu’s face was used as the official image of the meme cryptocurrency Dogecoin. Elon Musk has repeatedly provoked the coin’s jumps with his posts on Twitter: in April 2023, he temporarilyreplaced the blue bird on Twitter to Cabos —Dogecoin value soared by 30%and Musk himself at the time sold $124 million worth of coins.
In December 2022, Sato informed the community that Kabosu was having health problems, and after Dogecoin co-creator Billy Marcus asked followers for help — one offered to cover «any costs necessary to provide the best treatment».