# Shiba Inus Shiba Inus, also known as Shibes, are a small Japanese dog breed that became internet royalty in 2010 after a rescue named Kabosu launched the Doge meme. Tilt-headed Shiba photos spread through Tumblr and Reddit as Comic Sans image macros called shibe posts, and the breed's fame later inspired the $SHIB cryptocurrency. ## Origin The Shiba Inu is a small Japanese hunting breed that dates to the 19th century and nearly died out in the mid-20th century, particularly after World War II, before being rebuilt through crossbreeding[1]. Genetic work groups it with the oldest surviving dog lineages in East Asia[3]. Shibas started appearing on breed and pet care sites in the early 2000s, but the meme run began in 2010 when Kabosu, a rescue Shiba owned by Japanese kindergarten teacher Atsuko Sato, showed up in blog photos that later became the source images for Doge[4]. That single dog's tilted head and raised brows pulled the whole breed into online fandom. - **Platform:** Tumblr / Reddit (viral spread) - **Creator:** Unknown - **Date:** 2010 ## Overview A shibe post is a plain photo of a Shiba Inu overlaid with short Comic Sans captions written as the dog's inner monologue, the same interior monologue style that later fed the Doge meme[4]. The Tumblr blog Shiba Confessions locked in the format on day one, describing itself as a place for "funny text in Comic Sans over unrelated pictures of Shibas"[2]. Captions tend to be bursts of surprise, hunger, or low-key existential confusion, often playing off the breed's smug, side-eyed expression. The misspelling "shibe" for "shiba" was intentional and became the shorthand fans used for both the dog and the whole image macro genre[4]. Shibe posts overlap with Doge's broken English, but they lean more toward stream-of-consciousness dog thoughts than the fragmented "such wow, much dog" adjective format. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Shiba Inus? Shiba Inus, also called Shibes online, are a Japanese dog breed whose photos power a long-running image macro format with Comic Sans captions written as the dog's inner monologue[2]. ### Where did Shiba Inus come from? The breed originated in 19th century Japan as a small hunting dog and nearly went extinct after World War II before being rebuilt through crossbreeding[1]. ### What does Shiba Inus mean? Online, "Shibe" is an intentional misspelling of "Shiba" used as a nickname for the breed and for the Comic Sans image macros featuring these dogs[4]. ### How do you use Shiba Inus? The typical shibe post pairs a candid Shiba Inu photo with short Comic Sans text framed as the dog's inner thoughts, a template introduced by the Shiba Confessions Tumblr in 2012[2]. ### Is Shiba Inus still popular? The breed's meme footprint stayed strong through spin-offs like the 2018 "Do You Like Your New Toy?" howling video[6] and the 2020 launch of the $SHIB meme coin, which was listed on Binance in 2021[4]. ## References 1. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiba_Inu]() 2. [https://shibaconfessions.tumblr.com/post/26690811609/shibaman-shibaconfessions-more-like-a-chance-to]() 3. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3384140/]() 4. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/shiba-inus-shibes]() 5. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150404072915/http://shibe-doge.tumblr.com:80/]() 6. [https://x.com/i/status/988442734779301890]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/shiba-inus-shibes Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library