Key Takeaways
Atsuko Sato, the owner of the famous Shiba Inu Kabosu that became the face of the Doge meme, has announced the adoption of a new rescue dog named Cocoro. Along with the introduction of Cocoro, Sato has authorized her community partner “Own The Doge” to create an official COCORO token on the Base blockchain. This marks a departure from unauthorized token projects that have used Sato’s dogs’ images without her permission. The COCORO token reached a fully diluted valuation of $100 million within an hour of its launch.
Please allow me to introduce our newest family member, Cocoro. The name comes from the word “kokoro,” which means “heart” in Japanese. However, I will be calling her “Koko” for short, and I prefer the spelling “Coco,” so her full name is “Cocoro.” pic.twitter.com/EB99ipJM4P — かぼすママ (@kabosumama) March 8, 2025
Sato expressed that in the past, unknown individuals used her dogs’ images to create and launch tokens without her consent. With Cocoro, she has chosen to partner with a community she trusts to create an official token.
In the past, anonymous people have used my pets’ likeness to launch tokens. This time, I have given my blessing to my supportive community at Own The Doge, who I have previously worked with extensively, to create an official Cocoro token. — かぼすママ (@kabosumama) March 8, 2025
Cocoro, a black Shiba Inu, joins Neiro, another dog known to fans, as part of Sato’s growing family. The adoption announcement caused the NEIRO meme coin, inspired by Sato’s Neiro, to drop approximately 14% in value, according to CoinGecko. Own The Doge has disclosed that 5% of the COCORO tokens are locked in a liquidity pool, with the claimable fees divided between the DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) and Atsuko Sato. The liquidity pool was launched with a fully diluted valuation of $1 million to prevent initial price manipulation. Additionally, 20% of the tokens are allocated for airdrops to existing DOG and Neiro token holders, and there is a 5% DAO reserve for future development and community initiatives.
We are delighted to welcome the latest member of Atsuko’s family, Cocoro! With Atsuko’s blessing, OTD is launching $Cocoro. The launch is intended to defend against unofficial, extractive deployments, while being as fair as possible and benefiting Atsuko’s existing supporters. pic.twitter.com/6jZZK5JgS3 — Own The Doge (@ownthedoge) March 8, 2025
However, the legitimacy of Sato’s posts has been questioned, particularly after reports of a previous hack targeting her social media accounts. Sato also made a similar announcement on her website on Saturday.
“I absolutely refuse to let my images be used without permission to make money! That is my strong will. If it is so useful that it can be hacked, then I thought I would create a token with people I trust and use it to protect children and animals around the world!” according to Sato’s new blog post, which has been translated into English.
Kabosu, the beloved Shiba Inu who inspired the Dogecoin meme and captured the hearts of the internet, passed away last May at the age of 18 after battling leukemia and liver disease. The crypto community mourned the loss deeply, and tributes were shared by prominent figures like Elon Musk and Vitalik Buterin. Dogecoin itself experienced a temporary price surge as a touching tribute to the dog that served as its inspiration.
