How my sweet, dead dog was 'meme-orialized'

I wasn't sure what a meme was, or even how to pronounce the word, until several weeks ago when I learned that my dog is one on the internet.

This felt spooky because Bailey the beagle died of lymphoma almost six years ago, at age 7, and the appropriated photo shows him as a puppy, around Christmas 2003. He looks teeny, adorable, and strangely abashed.

Facebook and other social media didn't even exist in 2003, so the genesis of Bailey the Meme came later and remains mysterious. (More about that in a minute.)

But the meme is definitely him. Not only does it show Bailey's distinctive coloring, but he is sitting on the dining room rug that I had selected with my then-husband, Dan Morton.

Dan stumbled onto Bailey the Meme when he typed "pretty please" into a Google image search, looking for a humorous photo or bit of text - yes, a meme - to put in an email request. Up popped Bailey on a website where you can whip up your own meme.

Bailey, I have since discovered, is not nearly as popular a meme as Doge, a Shiba Inu whose picture is sprinkled with words that are supposed to be his internal monologue. Imagine the surprise of the Japanese kindergarten teacher who took the snapshot in 2010 and, starting three years later, found her pet featured by a Delta Airlines safety video, a NASCAR racing car, a joke coin currency, a Weird Al Yankovic video, and much more.

While Bailey isn't as famous, a Google search shows he has been meme-orialized worldwide, with "Pretty Please," "I'm Sorry," "You Lied to Me," "I made you a cookie but I eated it," and many other phrases in dozens of languages. Bailey the Meme has illustrated "six winning ways to make up with your girlfriend," "15 common mistakes when training a puppy," "why skipping a workout is OK," and "Is Ryan Gosling cuter than a puppy?" Also a news story about Airbnb apologizing for a guest who vandalized a home.

It's all as ridiculous as the nostalgia it evokes in me.

The real Bailey was trusting and friendly, definitely not an alpha dog, except during ferocious games of tug-of-war with his blankie. He also liked fetch, and trained his masters to wrest the slimy ball from his mouth when he brought it back. He was horrible to walk on a leash because he had to sniff every blade of grass and molecule of pee mail. If you howled like a dog, he would join in. And he was the best cuddler on the planet.

As Dan put it: "When I stumbled on him in that meme, I was again taken with a sense of grief. He was the best damn dog, wasn't he?"

We can't be sure, but we suspect that Bailey went viral after Dan's daughter posted photos of him on Facebook in 2010, to share the news of his death.

Now aware of his resurrection, I've read about ordinary, unassuming folks - babies to centenarians - whose photos were misappropriated and turned into popular memes. This raises issues of invasion of privacy, security, copyright. Fifteen minutes of unexpected fame can be fun - or creepy and traumatic.

In Bailey's case, all I can say is: Thanks for the meme-ories.

mmccullough@phillynews.com

215-854-2720 @repopter