Who is Cheems? Internet mourns death of viral Shiba Inu

Virginia Glaze

The internet is a little less bright after Cheems, the Shiba Inu behind several viral memes, passed away during a surgery, leaving fans mourning the adorable internet-famous pup.

Quite a few animals have taken over the internet within the past decade. Names like Grumpy Cat and Lil Bub first come to mind, who won the hearts of netizens due to their unique appearances and adorable mannerisms.

More recently, pets like Noodle the Pug took TikTok by storm, gaining millions of followers thanks to his owner’s viral “bones or no bones” videos.

Unfortunately, these beloved pets have since passed away — and now, another beloved internet animal has crossed the rainbow bridge.

Internet mourns death of Cheems the viral Shiba Inu

You might recognize Cheems from a few viral memes that have cropped up online over the years. The Shiba Inu is famous for his funny faces and has been photoshopped to appear in a variety of funny photos.

However, he was most famous for a picture posted to his owner’s Instagram account on September 4th, 2017, which showed the pup pulling an unimpressed face that had his parent wondering: “Thought I had a Shiba Inu, but I guess this is not.”

Cheems, aka ‘balltze,’ was one of the internet’s favorite doggos… but on August 19, 2023, it was reported that the beloved Shiba passed away during a surgery.

According to an Instagram post from his owner, Cheems went in for a thoracentesis surgery (removing fluid around the lungs) on August 18 and never woke up.

“Ball Ball fell asleep on 18/8,” his owner explained. “He fell asleep on Friday morning during his last thoracentesis surgery. Originally, we wanted to arrange chemotherapy or other possible treatment for him after this operation, but it is too late now.”

“Please remember the joy that Balltze brought to the world,” the owner wrote. “A Shiba Inu with a round smiling face connecting you and me, he has helped many people during the [global issue] and brought a lot of joy to many of you, but now his mission has completed.”

“I believe he is running freely in the sky and having a lot of delicious food with his new friends,” they added. “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.”

Cheems’ owner had been documenting the Shiba’s journey with cancer on Instagram for some time prior to the pup’s passing. Netizens are mourning Cheems across social media, offering their condolences to the dog’s owner and memorializing the Shiba with even more memes and posts.

Cheems will always be remembered for the many laughs he gave netizens over the years as more and more tributes continue to pour in for the famous Shiba Inu.

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