Kabosu, the dog behind the ‘doge’ internet meme, has died

Kabosu, the shiba inu dog whose quizzical expression starred in an array of “doge” internet memes, has died, its owner said Friday.

A picture of Kabosu with a slight side-eyed look went viral around 2013 on Tumblr and various online chatrooms, before it became known as “doge,” one of the most iconic and recognized images of the social web era.

The dog’s owner, Atsuko Sato, 62, a kindergarten teacher from the city of Sakura in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, confirmed the news in a poignant poem on her blog on Friday.

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