Throughout all of this, Sato continued to share photos of Kabosu, and her blog remained popular in Japan completely outside the context of the meme. “To be honest, some pictures are strange for me, but it’s still funny!” Sato told The Verge. “ I’m very impressed with their skills and taste. Around me, nobody knows about the doge meme. Maybe I don’t understand memes very well, because I’m living such an analog life.”
Still, she gamely leaned into the doge-of-it-all, even marking Kabosu’s birthday, Nov. 2, as “Doge Day.” Along with providing a long, happy life for Kabosu, she also hoped his fame would bring more awareness to animal shelters and puppy mills. “I’d like to give back to them somehow, helping those abandoned animals,” Sato said. “It’ll be nice that Kabosu can play that role.” {read}