Marnie, The Instagram-Famous Dog With A Floppy Tongue, Dies Aged 18

marniethedog/Instagram

Internet sensation Marnie the dog, known throughout the world for her quirky appearance, has died at the age of 18.

The elderly Shih Tzu, easily recognisable by her tilted head and dangly tongue, died peacefully in her home on the afternoon of Thursday, March 7. She is said to have ‘enjoyed her chicken until the very end’.

Marnie’s devoted owner Shirley, who adopted Marnie when she was already 11 years old, has paid a tribute to the sweet girl via social media; expressing her gratitude at having had Marnie as part of her life for so long.

Shirley wrote:

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. I’m 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.

Shirley also spoke about Marnie’s enduring legacy, with the lovely girl inspiring other animal lovers to adopt older dogs:

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 ageing 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).

marniethedog/Instagram

After her adoption, Marnie went on to gain a huge online fanbase, with over than 1.8 million devoted Instagram followers. Her account is tribute to the fun and adventures Shirley and Marnie shared together, full of holidays and birthday parties and some truly iconic dressing up outfits.

Rest in peace Marnie. You brought so much joy to so many.

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.

Julia Banim

Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.