Very saved! The meme that almost wasn't

Wow. Such news. One of the internet's favourite memes might never have been if it weren't for the kindness of one lady :)

This is doge, aka Kabosu.

Like many adoring pet owners, (guilty!) Atsuko Sato wanted to share some pictures of her adorable fluffy friend. She posted this pic of Kabuso on her blog, and BOOM! The internet exploded.

Doge became a student;

And pondered the meaning of life.

There was that scary time when we thought doge was lost;

But then she was found. Disguised as a hipster.

Then there was that time that doge made a guest appearance in the Lion King;

And became an international movie star.

I could go on all day. But I reckon out of all the stories doge has helped tell, the best one yet is that of Kabosu's – the dog behind the meme. Just four years ago, Kabosu was saved from death row by Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Sato. Kabosu was born onto a puppy factory, where dogs are valued purely for the money they can earn and kindness is in short supply.

Thankfully, the puppy factory closed down but that meant that Kabuso, along with 19 other Shiba dogs were abandoned. Kabuso was one of the lucky ones as she was saved by the kind-hearted teacher :) "She was not loved when she was little, so I want to shower her with love as a member of my family," Sato said.

Very awwwwwwww.

Sato started her blog in 2009 to help raise awareness about puppy farctories and why adopting companion animals is so important. Sato has been pleased by Kabuso's sudden fame. "I want more people to know about animal shelters and puppy mills," she says. Here in Australia, there are more dogs in shelters than there are loving homes for them to go to. Sadly, many will not be as lucky as Kabuso and may be put down. You can help put a stop to this problem in two ways:

Firstly, by pledging to always adopt your companion animals from a shelter, rather than buying from a pet shop. (You never know, your rescue pet might be the new internet sensation.)

And secondly, by spreading doge's message that adoption is awesome:

P.S. Don't worry, Kabuso is not letting the fame get to her head. She'll always be a sucker for a good ol' belly rub :)

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