Rescued Shiba Inu Dog Is Responsible For The Funny 'Cheems' Meme

Who knew a nine-year-old rescue dog could change the internet?

Damjan

• Published in Animal Stories
• July 8, 2020

This Shiba Inu dog and the mischievous look on his face became a sort of Internet celebrity. If you're familiar with meme culture's obsession with Shiba Inu Dogs, you might actually be scrambling to picture which beloved dog we're referencing... but chances are that you have already run into some of the dog memes he is starring.

Cheems is a popular “Ironic Doge” character, and that characteristic grin has become the dog themed meme's trademark. Classic Cheems memes usually show this fluffy dog with extra M letters in the spelling, just for fun.

Wiki page Know Your Meme tracks back Cheems’ origins back to September 4th, 2017. The Instagram post included a picture of a Quirky Shiba Inu Dog, but the puppy wasn’t famous back then.

In case you are wondering, the dog’s real name is Balitze, which is quite frankly an adorable name or an adorable dog.

"I'm a 9-year-old Shiba Inu living in Hong Kong, and I was adopted into my family when I was just one. I am very quiet and when I'm at home, I am very well-behaved and very friendly towards my family but when I go out, I can be a little edgy."

The owner discovered the meme at the start of last year when people began leaving comments on his Instagram account stating stuff like 'I don't know who this guy is, but he looks like he's made of CHEESE'.

"With my Cheems persona, I have the superpower of being virtually anyone," Balltze says. "I kinda enjoy that! Plus, a lot of my Internet friends send me messages, telling me that I cured their depression and brought joy with my memes. I'm very happy I can do that."

Balltze realizes his memes have made the Shiba Inu a popular dog breed but would like to remind everybody that a lot of amazing dogs can be found in shelters. "If you are planning to get a Shiba Inu, please consider taking a glimpse at your local dog shelter before buying from pet shops. You may find uncut gems like me ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)."

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Damjan