What Happened to Gabe the Dog?
Gabe the Dog, the small white cloud whose single bark became the most remixed sound on YouTube, died on January 19, 2017. His family announced it the next day on his Facebook page: his heart, which had been struggling for some time, suddenly got worse, and he went peacefully, at home, surrounded by the people who loved him.
The internet reacted the way it reacts to very few deaths, human or otherwise. Tributes, remix compilations, and “bork in peace” messages flooded in for weeks. For a dog whose entire body of work was one syllable, Gabe left a remarkable amount of music behind.
Who Gabe was
Gabe was a Miniature American Eskimo, a breed that looks like someone engineered the maximum possible fluff into the minimum possible dog. He lived in Canada with his family, who had adopted him as a rescue when he was already an adult, and he spent about six happy years with them.
His path to fame was gloriously stupid, in the way the best internet things are. In 2013 his owner uploaded a short video of Gabe barking. That bark, a bright, clipped, almost synthetic little “bork,” turned out to be a perfect musical instrument. Remixers pitched it, sequenced it, and played entire songs with it: classical pieces, movie themes, pop hits, national anthems, all performed note for note in bork.
The remixes became a genre of their own. To this day, if a song exists, there is probably a version of it barked by Gabe.
Why he still matters
Gabe belongs to the purest era of dog fame. He sold nothing, promoted nothing, and never wore a sponsored bandana. He was a rescue dog with a funny bark, and the internet collectively decided that was enough to make him immortal. Compare that with today’s manufactured pet influencer industry and you understand what people are nostalgic for.
He is remembered alongside Boo, Kabosu, and Cheems in the generation of dogs who made the 2010s internet feel like a warmer place. Our famous internet dogs page keeps all their stories.
Bork in peace, Gabe. The remixes play on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Gabe the Dog dead?
Yes. Gabe died of heart failure on January 19, 2017. His family said his heart had been struggling for some time and that he passed peacefully at home.
What breed was Gabe the Dog?
Gabe was a Miniature American Eskimo, a small, extremely fluffy white breed. He was adopted as an adult rescue dog by his family in Canada.
Why is Gabe the Dog famous?
A 2013 video of his distinctive short bark, the “bork,” was remixed by YouTubers into thousands of songs, from classical music to pop hits, creating an entire genre of bork remixes.