Bodhi, the Shiba Inu who rose to internet stardom as the “MenswearDog,” has passed away at 15 years old.
His dog mom, Yena Kim, announced his death on Monday in an Instagram post. “I lost my soul dog,” she began the post, which featured several images of Bodhi dressed stylishly in an array of men’s clothing.
“Bodhi was not just a fashion dog, or a pet to me. He was the fork in the road in my life that pivoted everything about who I was, where I was, who I met and the career I chose. He was my heart, my center, my everything,” Kim wrote.
Bodhi became a viral sensation in 2013, when Kim and her husband David Fung dressed up their dog in Ralph Lauren menswear and posted the result on Tumblr. Since then, he’s gained 375,000 followers on Instagram with the username @mensweardog.
Bodhi has also modeled in campaigns for Coach and Salvatore Ferragamo, and even released a capsule collection with Nike.
Kim adopted the Shiba Inu from a New York City pet store in 2009, when she was a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology, according to the The New York Times. She named the dog after Patrick Swayze’s character in the 1991 movie Point Break.
“Even as he experienced cognitive decline, he would find me, his little body leaning and pressing against my leg. He was my place of comfort, my ultimate peace,” the caption read. “I toggle between crying and smiling thinking of him and it’s safe to say that I will never recover from this loss but if I could do it all again, I know I would in a heartbeat.”
Bodhi struggled with kidney illness and spinal issues in the last two years of his life, Kim told The New York Times. He reportedly died in Brooklyn in his owner’s arms.
On Instagram, fans of the “Menswear Dog” rushed to the comments section to share their condolences and pay tribute to the fashion icon.
The official account for Brooks Brothers commented: “We always loved collaborating with Bodhi. We know he will be missed by so many.”
“He was a legend,” wrote the popular dog-themed account We Rate Dogs. “Rest easy Bodhi.”
Just last year, another viral Shiba Inu — Cheems Balltze, who inspired the “doge” meme — died at the age of 12 after a battle with cancer.
The internet-famous dog, known for his adorable smile and love of cheeseburgers, passed away in August 2023 after falling asleep during a thoracentesis surgery, his owner wrote on social media.
Balltze rose to internet fame in 2010, when a photo of a Shiba Inu dog crossing its paws was overlaid with scattered comic sans text — depicting what could be the pet’s inner monologue. Internet users quickly started referring to the image as “doge,” and it even spawned the new cryptocurrency “Dogecoin” in 2013.
