Shiba Inu behind 'Doge' meme and face of Dogecoin dies

Kabosu, the shiba inu who inspired the 'doge' meme has died at the age of 18.

The dog had been suffering from leukaemia and liver disease.

An Instagram story was put up bidding farewell to Kabosu. Sato, a teacher in Japan, took Kabosu in back in 2008, when she was sent to an animal shelter after the puppy mill she was in was shut down.

Kabosu turned into an internet sensation when a 2010 image of her with crossed paws and a small smirk started doing the rounds on Tumblr and Reddit.

On Reddit, a user referred to the image as 'doge', which was an intentional misspelling of the word dog in a nod to the 2005 episode of Homestar Runner.

The meme gained popularity in 2013 where a coloured Comic Sans text is placed over the photo along the lines of 'Much wow' and 'so scare' surrounding the late Kabosu.

The 'Doge' meme was sold in 2021 as a non-fungible token (NFT) for $4 million.

Kabosu is also the face of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency, which was initially created as a 'joke' currency and is the sleeve sponsor of the Watford Football Club.

Elon Musk has shown a fondness for Dogecoin, and made the logo the icon for the Twitter home button for some time in April.