On 19 August 2023 (Saturday), Cheems Balltze, the dog who went viral after featuring in several memes, passed away peacefully. Balltze was 12 years old and died from cancer treatment.
The sad news was confirmed by the dog’s owners through a post on Instagram, who has a 800,000 strong following. The post went viral quickly and soon the news caught the attention of multiple media outlets, and tributes started pouring in from all over the World.
The owners wrote in a viral post on Instagram: “Ball Ball fell asleep on 18/8. 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,”
In the same Instagram post, the owners also urged people not to be sad about Balltze’s passing and instead remember the joy that Balltze brought to everyone. The post wrote: “Don’t be sad, please 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.”
Brief History of Cheems Balltze
Balltze was born on 9 January 2011. He was adopted at the age of one from an emigrating friend, by fashion designer Kathy from Kowloon. Kathy’s brother named him after Ramune, a Japanese beverage in which a ball is pressed to produce more drink. He was known as Ball Ball by his owners.
Balltze became famous globally through his appearances as the Internet meme character Cheems, whose name comes from his taste for “cheemsburgers” [sic]. The character adds the letter “m” into words as he speaks. The meme was first posted to the r/dogelore subreddit on Reddit in June 2019. The image used for the meme was uploaded originally on Balltze’s Instagram account in 2017, and shows him sitting on the floor.
Balltze (Cheems) also features in the “Swole Doge vs Cheems” meme in which a muscular version of fellow Shiba Inu meme Doge represents something considered better in the past, and Cheems represents its current, lesser state. The meme became viral in mid-2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, another meme circulated, in which Cheems hits another dog with a baseball bat causing the onomatopoeia “bonk”, while saying “go to horny jail”. The meme is posted in response to suggestive messages.
R.I.P. Cheems Balltze. May the people around the World be happy whenever they see the photos of this loveable canine.
