Shiba Inu destined to be euthanized gets adopted at the last second, then becomes one of the most famous doggos the internet has ever seen

Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager

Jun 28, 2026 8:15 AM EDT

Much wow. Very legend. Many salute. So loved.

If you were born around the 1990s, you know who Doge is. But take a second to ask yourselves, what do you really know about her? Did you know that she was actually supposed to be euthanized? To think that, in another universe, the internet might never have known the presence of Doge and all the happiness, laughter, and howlariousness that she brought to all of us at that time on the internet.

Her real name is Kabosu. She was born in a puppy mill (shiba inus are the most popular dog breed in Japan) and was freed, but stayed in a shelter for nearly too long. She was about to be euthanized when she was adopted by a kindergarten teacher days before her supposed end. And thank goodness Ms. Sato saved her, because her pictures of Kabosu turned into the viral Doge memes time and time again.

Just like how cat memes in the early days of the internet developed their own language (called Lolcats speak), Doge memes had their own language as well. A silly representation of Kabosu's sassy, yet wholesome nature, people started writing things like "such wow", "so beauty", or "much lols" on all of her pictures. In fact, so many of her pictures were turned into memes that we could write many listicles compiling all of her most famous funnies and still not encompass all of them.

If you're just here for the Doge memes, by all means scroll down. But, we hope you learned something about this impawtant internet icon, and if you're ever in Japan, make sure to go pay your respects at her memorial in Sakura Furusato Square. It's the least you can do for all the times she made you giggle.

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In 2008 a dog that was on the verge of being euthanized was adopted by her owner

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If you have no idea what a kabosu fruit is, we're here to enlighten you: it looks like an unripe mandarin orange, but has the same tartness of a lemon. It is, in fact, very round. Once you look it up, you might understand why this doggo was named after it.
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[She] later became one of the most famous dogs on the web

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She passed away in 2024 but her statue still stands in her hometown

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