Cheems Balltze — AKA the adorable lil’ pup who inspired the Doge memes — has passed away. BRB, just sobbing into an already tear-soaked pillow.
Kathy (@balltze), the owner of the Ball Ball — oh my fucking GOD I’m gonna start sobbing again — shared a lengthy Instagram post earlier this week announcing the passing of the beloved dog, revealing he “fell asleep” due to cancer.
“He fell asleep on Friday morning during his last thoracentesis surgery,” the post reads.
“Originally, we wanted to arrange chemotherapy or other possible treatment for him after this operation, but it is too late now.”
The post went on to ask fans to be happy and to “remember the joy that Balltze brought to the world.”
“A Shiba Inu with a round smiling face connecting you and me, he has helped many people during the pandemic and brought a lot of joy to many of you, but now his mission has completed,” the post continues.
“I believe he is running freely in the sky and having a lot of delicious food with his new friends.
“He will always be inside my heart. I hope he can continue to bring joy to everyone in the online world, that’s my only humble request.”
Within the post, Kathy thanked Ken Tam (@just.walk_animal.rehab), Dr Jessica and Dr Tiffany (@amahvethk), who was present in Ball Ball’s health journey.
“Thank you everyone, thank you, Balltze knows how much he was loved by all of you,” the post ends.
Sorry, there’s just a twig in my eyes … nevermind, it’s a whole damn branch. As a dog lover, my heart aches writing this article.
Little Ball Ball gained popularity due to his “daily mood pictures” that were shared on the Instagram account, which has been operating since April 12 2015.
According to his website, the real memeification of Ball Ball happened in 2017 when someone named Josh said he resembled “cheese” under an IG post.
“That’s how the start of my meme fame, later it developed to my meme stage name – Cheems / Cheemsburger, one of my best-known meme appearance is ‘Swole Doge vs. Cheems’. Yes, I’m the small puppy-like dog, I wish one day I can be strong like Swole Doge!” the website reads.
Thank you so much for all the fun, relatable memes, Balltze.
You’re a true icon of this digital age.
Image source: Instagram / @balltze
