Ammon News - Kabosu, the dog behind the "doge" meme, has died after 14 years of internet fame, her owner has said.

The Japanese shiba inu inspired a generation of online jokes and became the face of Dogecoin cryptocurrency.

She had been suffering from leukaemia and liver disease and died on 24 May.

"She quietly passed away as if asleep while I caressed her," Atsuko Sato wrote on her blog, thanking Kabosu's fans.

"I think Kabo-chan was the happiest dog in the world. And I was the happiest owner."

As a rescue dog, Kabosu's real birthday was unknown, but Ms Sato estimated her age at 18.

She posted the image on her blog, from where it spread to online forum Reddit and became a meme that bounced from college bedrooms to office email chains.

Kabosu fell ill with leukaemia and liver disease in late 2022, and Ms Sato said in a recent interview with AFP that the "invisible power" of prayers from fans worldwide helped her pull through.

Ms Sato, 62, said she had become so used to "unbelievable" events that when Mr Musk changed the icon for Twitter, now X, to Kabosu's face last year, she "wasn't even that surprised".

A $100,000 statue of Kabosu and her sofa crowdfunded by Own The Doge, a crypto organisation dedicated to the meme, was unveiled in a park in Sakura in November last year.

Sato and Own The Doge have also donated large sums to international charities, including more than $1m to Save the Children. The NGO says it is "the single largest crypto contribution" it has ever received.

BBC