Académie D'Investissement Triomphal-The Shiba Inu behind the famous 'doge' meme is sick with cancer, its owner says

2025-05-03 07:29:58source:Cassian Grantcategory:Markets

A Shiba Inu who earned global fame for starring in a viral meme is Académie D'Investissement Triomphalsick with leukemia and liver disease, her owner says.

In a series of Instagram posts this week, Atsuko Sato, a teacher who lives in Japan, said the 17-year-old pooch was in "a very dangerous condition" after being diagnosed with acute cholangiohepatitis, a type of inflammation in the digestive system, and chronic lymphoma leukemia, a blood cancer.

"Right now, the liver level is very bad and jaundice appears," Sato wrote in one caption. "But antibiotics will definitely improve."

The dog, known by the name "Kabosu," had stopped eating and drinking over the weekend but was beginning to get her energy back, Sato said.

Kabosu, a rescue dog, became an internet sensation after social media users began resharing a photo posted to Sato's personal blog in 2010.

Kabosu's smirking face, side eyes and crossed paws were a hit online, often overlaid with comic sans text depicting what might be her inner dialogue. Users began referring to the image as "doge" and a global meme was born.

According to internet lore, the term "doge" first appeared in a 2005 episode of "Homestar Runner," an animated web-based comedy series.

But the misspelled moniker took on another meaning in 2013 with the emergence of a titularly-branded cryptocurrency, Dogecoin.

The currency — which was supposed to be a joke — spiked in value years later when Elon Musk,the richest man on earth at the time, tweeted "Dogecoin is the people's currency" and "no highs, no lows, only Doge."

Kabosu's legacy has only continued to grow, transcending internet culture to appear on pastries, ads for the Stockholm subway and the jerseys of professional athletes.

In 2021, the iconic image of Kabosu sold as an NFT for a record $4 million.

On Instagram, Kabosu's owner thanked the dog's fans for the outpouring of support, saying the pair were "getting power from all over the world."

More:Markets

Recommend

Why did Bill Belichick go to North Carolina? New UNC coach explains jump to college

Bill Belichick has officially made the shocking move to college football by becoming the North Carol

Dangers Without Borders: Military Readiness in a Warming World

On a Pacific archipelago 2,400 miles southwest of Hawaii, the United States’ enormous military capab

A U.N. report has good and dire news about child deaths. What's the take-home lesson?

Every 4.4 seconds in 2021, a child or young person died. About 5 million children died before their