Maxine the Dog turns heads with her fluffy appearance and playful personality

Fluffy Corgi, Maxine (@madmax_fluffyroad), makes the day of anyone who crosses paths with her. The adorable doggy influencer is known for being carried around New York City in her iconic backpack, which was created by her dog dad, Bryan Reisberg. Bryan spent years designing the perfect dog backpack, and it sold out in 4 minutes after being launched publicly! 

Maxine looks like a walking cloud, which is actually the result of a gene mutation. “Maxine is what’s called a ‘Fluffy,’” explains Bryan. “That’s like, the actual name for dogs that just happen to be born with a rare gene mutation resulting in one long coat of fur as opposed to two short coats, which is like the breeding standard for Corgis.”

Of course, Maxine isn’t all looks. She’s got the personality to match! “She’s very goofy and playful,” Bryan says of his doggo. “She loves meeting people, she’s very calm in her backpack. When she’s on the ground, she’s crazy. Corgis are very high energy.”

Maxine became part of the family right after Bryan and his wife got married. “We’d always loved Corgis,” Bryan shares. “So Maxine was actually our wedding present to each other.”

After making an Instagram account for Maxine in 2016, she quickly shot to internet fame. “I bring her everywhere with me, so it was a lot of content,” says Bryan. “When we had something fun, we’d put it online and people loved it.”

Now, Maxine’s online persona is tethered to the backpack she’s carried in, which Bryan created himself. “I carried her in a dog backpack for probably six years,” explains Bryan. “And we were getting messages, like hundreds every day, from people who wanted to know what backpack we use so they could carry their dog in a backpack. But the problem was, the product I used, I didn’t like.”

So Bryan spent years designing a dog backpack that improved on the model he had been using with Maxine. Once it was ready for the world, Bryan launched the backpack on December 15, 2021 (Maxine’s birthday), and it sold out in 4 minutes. “We knew there was a demand, but we didn’t know there was that much of a demand,” says Bryan of the backpack’s popularity.
Bryan wants to continue to make strides in the pet industry, but the joy he gets from his daily interactions with people who get excited by seeing Maxine in her backpack is already an honor. “I get to see the best of humanity,” says Bryan. “Whenever I walk down the street, whenever I’m in the subway and they see a dog in a backpack, they just light up. They’re like, the most heartwarming interactions.”

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