Toast the Dog has passed away, and Instagram will never be the same

As everyone knows, the best thing about Instagram is dogs. Dogs with their own accounts, dogs owned by celebrities, dogs that belong to strangers — you name a dog, we’ll follow them. Instagram is an equal-opportunity dog free-for-all. But sadly, one of the very first truly “famous” Instagram dogs has passed. Toast the Dog died, and we are heartbroken. She was a very good girl.

The sweet Cavalier King Charles Spaniel held a special place in our hearts. Toast was the ultimate canine supermodel. Once, she had a dog wedding (!) that was honestly better than most human weddings we’ve attended. She was always up to something cute, and it was always for a good cause. Even though Toast the Dog died, she leaves behind a legacy that began when she was rescued from a puppy mill.

Toast’s owner, fashion publicist and founder of Megababe Katie Sturino, adopted Toast in 2011. The pup showed clear signs of neglect, but Sturino nursed her back to health and started an Instagram account called @ToastMeetsWorld. The rest was history. As of this writing, Toast has more than 378,000 followers. Her Insta pics showed off her fabulous life, including trips to the beach, at-home fashion shows, and “walks” around New York City.

But what made Toast’s posts so lovable was her now-famous tongue.

Her tongue was always hanging outside of her mouth, giving her a cute, silly appearance. But it hung like that because her rotten teeth were removed when she was rescued.

Sturino posted a beautiful eulogy for Toast on Instagram.

Sturino has not given a reason for Toast’s death yet, but there’s been an outpouring of support already. Toast has a new hashtag, #ToastMeetsHeaven, to help raise awareness of the evils of puppy mills. Struino is donating 100% of the money raised to charities that support rescue efforts.

Toast leaves behind two doggy siblings, Muppet and Underpants, who are also puppy mill rescues.

Luckily, Toast’s legacy will live on thanks to her (and Sturino’s) hard work. Let’s have a toast to Toast.