Beloved Internet Star Marnie The Dog Has Passed Away

By Emily Lee

March 8, 2020

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This is so sad.

The beloved, internet-famous Shiz Tzu known as Marnie the Dog has passed away. The news was shared on Instagram by Marnie's human. The post informed Marnie's millions of followers and fans that the much loved pup died on Thursday at her owner's home in Los Angeles. She was 18.

In the heartfelt Instagram post, Marnie’s owner, Shirley Braha, wrote that Marnie “passed away painlessly [and] peacefully” after her “comfort had been notably declining over the past few days.” Braha wrote that, despite her declining health, Marnie "enjoyed her chicken until the very end."

Braha thanked Marnie's numerous followers for "joining me on an unexpected journey with the ultimate love of my life." She called Marnie "the perfect best friend and companion" and told Marnie's followers she's "grateful I was able to give this magical creature the fun and deeply loving life she wanted and deserved. I’m thankful I was chosen to be the conduit for Marnie to bring joy into the world."

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It is with much grief I share the news that Marnie passed away painlessly & peacefully in my home on Thursday afternoon at the age of 18. Her comfort had been notably declining over the past few days with little hope for improvement and she let me know she had had enough. She enjoyed her chicken until the very end. Thank you for joining me on an unexpected journey with the ultimate love of my life. All I can feel right now is loss but beneath that I have so much gratitude. I’m grateful to the universe for entrusting me with her beautiful soul and providing me with the perfect best friend and companion. Im grateful I was able to give this magical creature the fun and deeply loving life she wanted and deserved. I’m thankful I was chosen to be the conduit for Marnie to bring joy into the world. And I’m thankful for all the human and dog friends Marnie and I made along the way, and the strangers on the streets and on the internet, who have shown us so much love. Most of all, I’m amazed that the sweet little hot mess of a pup that I picked up from a shelter at age 11, who at first didn’t seem like she would be around very long at all, has managed to inspire others to adopt senior dogs. When I hear from people that Marnie has made them adopt their senior dogs it’s truly the most beautiful legacy she and I could hope to leave in this world. The night of her passing I had a dream where I watched her awake from her death like it hadn’t happened at all, and she was running around at a party completely happy and invincible. She approached a descending staircase and I wanted to interject to protect her from falling, but she sailed right down the stairs and landed on her feet and stopped and looked at me and laughed and just kept going. Maybe this was a message from her from heaven, but at minimum I can take solace knowing that for a long stretch of time, prior to her aging body taking its toll, heaven for her was right here on earth. Marnie will be buried in a pet cemetery in LA and hopefully there will be a public memorial gathering whenever safe (due to Coronavirus).

A post shared by Marnie The Dog (@marniethedog) on Mar 7, 2020 at 12:33pm PST

"Most of all, I’m amazed that the sweet little hot mess of a pup that I picked up from a shelter at age 11, who at first didn’t seem like she would be around very long at all, has managed to inspire others to adopt senior dogs," Braha's emotional post continues. "When I hear from people that Marnie has made them adopt their senior dogs it’s truly the most beautiful legacy she and I could hope to leave in this world."

Braha shared that Marnie will be buried in a pet cemetery in Los Angeles. She hopes to hold a public memorial for the famous pup, however, arrangements won't be made until further notice due to concerns about spreading coronavirus. Braha will announce plans for Marnie's public memorial service sometime in the near future.

Rest in peace, Marnie.

Photo: Getty