I just read that Kabosu, that famous Shiba Inu dog who started the entire meme empire, has passed away. He died on May 24th, and his owner Atsuko Sato announced it on Friday. I won't lie, I feel sad because this dog has been part of the internet for years.

Kabosu, the dog, fought leukemia and liver disease since 2022. He was about 18 years old when he passed away. Sato adopted him from a shelter in 2008, and they have shared life together ever since. This woman from Sakura, near Tokyo, wrote that Kabosu "quietly passed away, as if sleeping" while she was petting him.

What surprised me is how much this dog meant to the world. Photos of Kabosu with that funny English text in Comic Sans inspired Dogecoin, which started as a joke and now has a market capitalization of $14.36 billion. Even Elon Musk regularly mentions this meme. One dog, who was adopted from a shelter, became an internet icon. Sato wrote that she was the happiest owner, and Kabosu was the happiest dog in the world. I think that's a beautiful way to remember him.