Entrepreneur Elon Musk has paid tribute to Kabosu, the Shiba Inu dog behind the Dogecoin meme that passed away earlier today.
A picture posted by the controversial centibillionaire shows the Harambe gorilla with angel wings hugging the legendary dog among clouds that emanate an ethereal glow.
Musk said that Doge has "ascended to heaven" so that it could be together with its "friend" Harambe.
The price of Dogecoin (DOGE) spiked more than 4% after Musk posted the image on his profile before paring some gains. Meanwhile, rival meme coin Shiba Inu (SHIB) added nearly 3%, but the gains were rather short-lived as well.
Tomiwabold OlajideAs reported by U.Today, Kabosu passed away at age 19 on Friday. Atsuko Sato, the owner, said that the world-famous Shiba Inu dog had "crossed the rainbow bridge" without suffering.
Shortly after being adopted by Sato in 2008, Kabuso turned into a social media star in 2010 because of one photo that inspired the Doge meme.
The memes with ungrammatical phrases and the cute Shiba Inu dog led to the creation of the Dogecoin cryptocurrency in 2013. The meme coin exploded in popularity in 2021 after it was actively promoted by Musk.
Joining Prince and David Bowie
Harambe the gorilla captured the hearts and minds of the online community in 2016. The western lowland gorilla was shot dead by a zoo worker after he grabbed a three-year-old boy who climbed into his enclosure.
The dead gorilla quickly eventually turned into the main meme of the year, becoming part of the collective online psyche with hashtags like #JusticeForHarambe. Prior to Musk's picture, Harambe was also part of other weird tributes. It was featured alongside photos of such cultural icons as David Bowie and Prince.
In May 2021, a photo of the gorilla was auctioned as a non-fungible token.
Arman Shirinyan
Dan Burgin
U.Today Editorial Team
Vladislav Sopov