Bryan Reisberg discovered that his Corgi named Maxine had a magical ability to cheer people up during their daily commutes underground in New York City, transforming serious faces into smiles and making heavy loads feel lighter simply by staring at subway riders from inside a backpack. The NYC resident started posting videos of his urban adventures with Maxine on social media where she quickly became a viral sensation known as “the dog in the backpack” all over the world, accumulating millions of views and prompting Reisberg to quit his job and create a dog backpack brand called Little Chonk. When a friend suggested using his platform to help homeless shelter dogs, Reisberg partnered with Best Friends Animal Society to create a weekly program where he picks up a shelter dog, takes it into the city in a backpack with an “Adopt Me” label attached, and shoots professionally polished videos that turn abandoned pets into social media superstars with content that has surpassed 75 million views. Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Animal Society, calls Reisberg a hero to both the dogs and shelter staff, noting that his visits provide a massive morale boost and his channels have influenced adoptions in remarkable ways.
All 11 dogs featured so far have been adopted except for one with ongoing medical problems, and even more impressively, adoptions at the shelter have increased substantially with about 100 more dogs adopted compared to the same time last year, likely due to the backpack videos. One recent Instagram video featured Bertha, a six-year-old bulky white dog weighing 65 pounds who rode piggyback through Queens, traveled on the subway, gave slobbery kisses, and captured hearts across both New York City and the internet with commenters predicting her happily ever after was coming soon. Reisberg shared the good news shortly afterward that Miss Bertha was adopted by a lovely family on Long Island with a nice big house, prompting Instagram users to cry happy tears and celebrate this perfect way to get the word out about beautiful souls that are alone and need love. What started as a Corgi cheering up stressed commuters has transformed into a powerful adoption machine proving that your best friend might be waiting for you in a shelter and you don’t even realize it yet.
