Viral TikTok Corgi Is Now the Official Face of Dog Safety for NYC's MTA Subways

Maxine the corgi aka @madmax_fluffyroad has been going viral since pre-pandemic times. She's been riding the MTA subways in NYC with her dad since she was a puppy. Now, she's full-grown and has upgraded from an uncomfortable tote bag to a personalized backpack. 

The need for a good dog travel bag become more and more evident while Maxine's viral-ness started to grow. So, Maxine and her dad, Bryan Reisberg, sought out to create the perfect dog backpack. Eventually, they helped start Little Chonk, the company that now creates the backpack that you'll see Maxine riding in on the NYC subways. (She has a specific one modeled after her named ‘The Maxine One Bag’.)The backpack was created around safety, convenience, durability, and comfort for your little fur baby. Plus, it looks insanely cute to have a little floof boppin' around on your back. 

Little Chonk Photoshoot:

Since the creation of the Little Chonk backpacks and Maxine's extreme viral-ness, the NYC MTA has now started to work with the fluffy mini-celebrity. Maxine has had an unofficial relationship with the MTA since she started riding. The little fluff brings so much joy to employees and commuters every time she's traveling. Many of her viral TikTok videos are of her on a train or walking through a subway with adoring fans swooning over her and/or giving her pets—this includes MTA employees. On her social media accounts you can see several sweet moments shared with MTA employees. 

Bryan posted on her TikTok recently that she is now officially the face of MTA safety for dog's traveling on the subway. The videos shows the Ad screens throughout the subway system showing little Maxine traveling around in her Little Chonk. 

From Puppy Tote to Chonky Backpack and now MTA Poster Pup:

MTA Employee Super Fan:

The MTA has always required dogs to be carried in bags in order to ride the subway. Since creating that rule, many New Yorkers haven't taken the “bag” rule seriously and have gotten created on how they carry the dog in a bag. Some have cut leg holes for their dog to walk while technically still in a bag, and others have stuffed their big dog into a tiny backpack that doesn't look comfortable at all. 

The Little Chonk is a perfect match with the MTA's rule on commuting dogs, so it's only natural for Maxine to now be the face of safety for the subway system. 

Meeting Commuters:

Fans of Maxine have been posting photos and videos of themselves with their backpacked dog by the Safety ads on the subway via their TikToks and Instagrams. This makes it seem like little Maxine and her travel backpack ride are really making a difference in subway dog safety.