getting around

Here’s the MTA’s Guide to Stuffing Your Dog Into a Backpack Properly

Photo: littlechonk.com

After borrowing the New York accents of Debi Mazar, Cam’ron, Jerry Seinfeld, and others to voice train announcements last year, the MTA has moved on to another even bigger star: Maxine the Fluffy Corgi. Better known to 3.4 million TikTok followers as @madmax_fluffyroad, Maxine appears in a series of social-media videos detailing the ins and outs of riding in a bag — specifically a backpack — the only way canine passengers are supposed to travel on the subway. The six-year-old corgi is something of a pro: She has been riding the train with her owner, Bryan Reisberg, since 2016, when the MTA first instituted its dogs-in-bags rule.

Reisberg narrates all the videos, offering tips and tricks and plenty of B-roll of Maxine living her best mass-transit life. Every step of the way, from getting Maxine into her carrier — she travels in a backpack, the Maxine One, which Reisberg designed — to making sure she’s a very good dog, involves treats, praise, and kisses on the top of her tan furry head.

If the tips aren’t enough to get your own dog into a bag — or you just really want to see her peering out of that custom backpack IRL — you’re in luck: There will be a pop-up meet and greet with Maxine (and Reisberg) sometime later this month. Reisberg will reveal the date and time on social media shortly.

Here’s the MTA’s Guide to Stuffing Your Dog Into a Backpack