Animals have been the subject of memes from the dawn of the internet. From the Badger Badger Badger song to the surprised hamster reaction meme, animals have been in memes long before Grumpy Cat and Gabe the Dog. Some are so unique that they're embedded in the internet's hall of fame forever.
The iconic Keyboard Cat, for example, actually had two different iterations. If you're old enough, you might remember the OG filmmaker Charlie Schmidt's Keyboard Cat from 1984. Unfortunately, its hero, a cat named Fatso, passed away in 1987. Schmidt's new cat Bento took up the role then. When it left this mortal plane, Skinny took its place and is the current iteration of the Keyboard Cat.
Another famous internet animal was Gabe the Dog. Gabe became famous for his pipes. People would edit his distinct bark (or 'bork', as the netizens called it) into famous songs like Toto's "Africa" and Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now". Sadly, Gabe's no longer with us either, but his owner Jesse Hamel remembers him only on the best of terms.
She explained how Gabe, rescued from a shelter, was very antisocial at first. He had separation anxiety and could only tolerate Jesse's family members. Luckily, as time went by, he regained his confidence. "I'm so proud of what we created—so many people used their creativity to make amazing stuff using Gabe's likeness and distinctive bark, and I think that creativity is what made him unique," Jessi said.
Another famous singing pooch is the French Bulldog Walter. This Frenchie has a beautiful voice, too! While he doesn't sing along to famous songs, he has a very distinct bark (or should we say whine?) that millions of people online enjoy. His owner routinely posts his hilarious and very loud meltdowns where he gets to showcase his pipes.
Who doesn't know Grumpy Cat and the iconic memes that this famous feline spawned? Cursed (or blessed? Blursed, probably) with a perpetual resting mean face, Grumpy Cat is still perhaps the most famous pet in the history of the internet. Grumpy's actual name was Tardar Sauce, and she wasn't that grumpy at all! Her owner Tabatha Bundesen says Grumpy had feline dwarfism and an underbite, which caused her unusual appearance.
At the moment, the Doge meme might evoke unpleasant associations for some, especially in the political sense. But we can't deny how popular it was in the 2010s; that Shiba Inu was simply everywhere! The real name of the pooch was Kabosu, and in 2013, the meme even got its own cryptocurrency, Dogecoin. The doggo passed away last year, and we hope she is "such happy" up in doggy heaven.
Pets may be the most popular and the easiest to meme, but other members of the animal kingdom have become memes as well. Usually, it's for their unusual behavior, something that we haven't seen in wildlife documentaries before. Like the honey badger from that viral video in 2011, where a self-proclaimed animal lover named Randall narrated it, giving the badger a sassy and irreverent persona.
