Kabosu, the dog behind the doge meme, turns 16. She is an internet legend, even if you don’t know who she is. The Shiba Inu inspired various cryptocurrencies, including Dogecoin and Shiba Inu, which are now worth over $70 billion. Kabosu, the dog behind the doge meme celebrated her 16th birthday on Tuesday.
Kabosu, of course, has her own Instagram account, where her owner shared photos from her special day. Because that’s how legends live, the photo has over 55,000 likes.
Kabosu was a rescue dog. The owner acquired her in 2008. She rose to recognition in 2010 when she was a sprightly 5-year-old. Kabosu featured on her owner’s blog, which included various images of the Shiba Inu. It is laying on a couch with her little paws crossed and a worried expression on her face in one. From there, the internet took over. Thereby, adding the doge language you know, within comic sans — “so concern, much wow,” and so on. It was then that the doge meme came into existence.
“Never in a million years would I have imagined the impact that my photoshoot of Kabosu would have on the internet,” her owner wrote on Instagram earlier this year. “It’s a moment that’s evolved and taken on a life of its own over the last decade — being shared millions of times and creating an entire community around the Doge meme.
Dog behind doge meme turns 16
Two software programmers decided to have a lark three years after the fateful photo. They mocked Bitcoin’s ridiculousness by inventing Dogecoin, digital money with an infinite supply. (Compared with Bitcoin, which has a maximum supply of 21 million). Dogecoin exploded in popularity, eventually becoming a meme in its own right. It gave rise to a new type of cryptocurrency known as “meme coins.”
Dogecoin now has a market cap of $35 billion, thanks to Elon Musk’s help. Shiba Inu inspired Dogecoin. It has surpassed Dogecoin in market capitalization. The two meme coins have a market valuation of almost $70 billion combined. They’re far from the only ones inspired by the Original Doge.
Kabosu, happy birthday. You’ve made a difference in the world.
