Doge

Such meme. Very legend. Wow.

On February 13, 2010, Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Sato posted photos of her rescued Shiba Inu, Kabosu, to her personal blog. One image—Kabosu lounging on a couch, side-eyeing the camera with an inscrutable expression—would become one of the most recognizable faces in internet history.

The Doge meme exploded in 2012-2013, characterized by its distinctive internal monologue: broken English phrases in Comic Sans, scattered around the image like the fragmented thoughts of a bewildered but enthusiastic dog. "Such wow." "Very meme." "Much viral." The format was simultaneously wholesome and absurdist, capturing something ineffable about the early 2010s internet.

Doge transcended typical meme mortality. In 2013, Dogecoin launched as a joke cryptocurrency that would eventually achieve a market cap of over $80 billion. Kabosu became the face of financial chaos, endorsed by Elon Musk, and somehow funded a NASCAR sponsorship and the Jamaican bobsled team.

The original format spawned an entire universe of descendants. Cheems—the round-faced Shiba who spoke in misspelled mumbles—became Doge's ironic counterpart, representing the diminished expectations of modern life. Together, they starred in Go To Horny Jail, the pandemic-era bonk heard round the world. Father and son, disciplinarian and degenerate.

But all good dogs must eventually rest. On May 24, 2024, Kabosu passed away at age 18, having lived to see her face become more widely recognized than most world leaders. Her photos had sold as NFTs for over $4 million. She had inspired a generation of strange, loving internet humor.

The meme format faded years before Kabosu did, transforming into ironic and surreal variants. But the original Doge—that gentle, confused, inexplicably hilarious face—remains eternal in our hearts.

Such goodbye. Very miss. Wow.