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According to the nonprofit Best Friends Sanctuary, 4.8 million homeless dogs and cats ended up in shelters across the United States in 2024. Hoping to do his part to help these innocent animals, filmmaker Bryan Reisberg has been taking adoptable dogs on adventures around New York City. He carries them on his back in a backpack, taking them on the “Best Day Ever.” This gives them the chance to be seen and greeted by potential adoptees wherever they go.
Once a week, Reisberg takes one of the pooches from a Best Friends Sanctuary partner shelter or rescue, offering them their first backpack ride ever. Using a special knapsack with the words “Adopt Me” on it, Reisberg takes the pups on the subway to Central Park or Times Square, before going toy shopping and grabbing a pup cup.
Originally, Reisberg carried his own dog, a corgi named Maxine, around the city and recorded the excited reactions of strangers seeing the adorable dog. A friend then suggested he put the allure of seeing a dog out and about in a backpack to use, and try taking a shelter dog instead to see what could happen. So that’s exactly what he does now.
The pup adventures are chronicled in videos shared on social media, with Reisberg listing the dogs’ personality traits in the caption—this also includes whether they enjoyed the backpack ride, behaved nicely on a leash, or if they were nervous at first. According to The Washington Post, 1o of the first 11 dogs featured have since been adopted. And his impact goes way beyond that, as Julie Castle, CEO of Best Friends Sanctuary, shared that about 100 more dogs have been adopted in comparison to last year, crediting Reisberg for the way he has showcased the pups.
“It’s crazy to me, to be able to see a real-world direct impact that you’re improving the life of another person and the life of a dog because you took a few hours to go make some content,” he said. “If I need to go ride a Citi Bike with a dog in a backpack just so somebody wants to click on that video, comment on it, and share it to somebody else, great, let’s do it,” Reisberg told People.
To stay up to date with these adoptable pups and their city adventures, you can follow Reisberg and Best Friends Sanctuary on Instagram.
Bryan Reisberg carries adoptable dogs in a backpack around New York City, offering them the “Best Day Ever.”
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
This gives them the chance to be seen and greeted by potential adoptees wherever they go.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Reisberg takes the pups on the subway to Central Park or Times Square, before going toy shopping and grabbing a pup cup.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
“It’s crazy to me, to be able to see a real-world direct impact that you’re improving the life of another person and the life of a dog because you took a few hours to go make some content,” he says.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
At least 1o of the first 11 dogs featured have since been adopted. And his impact goes way beyond that, as Best Friends Sanctuary shared that about 100 more dogs have been adopted in comparison to last year thanks to Reisberg.
Ver esta publicación en Instagram
Maxine the Fluffy Corgi (Bryan Reisberg): Instagram
The Best Friends Sanctuary: Website | Instagram
Sources: Kind Man Takes Shelter Dogs on Backpack Adventures Around New York City to Help Them Get Adopted; Rescue Dogs Find Adoption Success After Going for Rides in N.Y.C. Influencer’s Viral Backpack (Exclusive)
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