Paw-pular Pup ‘Reels’ in the ‘Likes’
Antics of Alums’ Goldendoodle Bring Joy to Millions on Social Media
Bentley the goldendoodle has nearly 2 million followers across social platforms, thanks to the efforts of owners Kelly '13 and Brandon '14 Madsen, who share funny and heartwarming posts online.
Photos by Stephanie S. Cordle
Here’s a little secret: The parents of TikTok-famous goldendoodle Bentley didn’t meet at RJ Bentley’s on Baltimore Avenue.
Kelly ’13 and Brandon ’14 Madsen first crossed paths at another popular College Park bar, Cornerstone, when their club field hockey and soccer teams had a mixer—but when it came time for the Terp couple to name their new puppy seven years ago, “Bentley” just had a better ring.
Today, @minidoodlebentley has joined the likes of Grumpy Cat and Doug the Pug as a pet influencer, with nearly 2 million followers across social platforms—including about 1.3 million on TikTok and more than 300,000 on Instagram. There, fans might find him teaching his younger (human) siblings tricks, lounging in a comically enormous dog bed and dressing up like a lobster or pumpkin.
“There’s so much negativity in the world,” said Kelly. “We got so much joy out of the dog accounts we followed. They had such carefree, happy, fun posts, so we just started doing that too.”
The Madsen family (clockwise from top left): Brandon, Kelly, Bentley, Tyler and Rachel.
Some of their most popular ones include Kelly sitting in Bentley’s crate with a book, coffee and snacks—kids and canine on the outside—captioned, “Six years into owning a dog, three years into motherhood and I JUST figured out what this thing is for,” with nearly 2 million likes on Instagram. Or a surprise birthday party for Bentley, featuring a teddy bear cake, which has 9.2 million likes on TikTok. (Bentley bears no small resemblance to a teddy himself.)
The Madsens never imagined he’d go viral when they started posting about their pup in 2017. But within the first year, an Australian fitness influencer with millions of followers shared a post about the pooch on her account, and the couple woke up to 25,000 new followers. Then when TikTok entered the U.S. market in late 2019, the fledgling company invited the Madsens to join the platform, even assigning them a weekly advisor to discuss strategies and trends. The app took off during the pandemic, and by 2021, Bentley had more than a million followers.
Occasionally that online celebrity spills into real life; they’ve been recognized on the street in Baltimore and even at day-care drop-off. Two years ago, a fan reached out with a special request: His mother had late-stage cancer, and for Christmas, her only wish was to meet Bentley. The Madsens quickly agreed, and after a little subterfuge to keep it a surprise, the son and mom arrived at their house in Howard County, where she burst into happy tears.
But doggie influencing is just a side gig for both of them; Kelly is a mathematician, while Brandon is an anesthesiologist. They don’t do grid posts or reels as frequently as they did before kids—just once or twice a week and some daily stories—because while Bentley is a consummate professional, the toddlers are more likely to spill sippy cups of milk or flop to the ground when they whip out the camera.
The Madsens are often approached about brand partnerships, but they’ve gotten more selective as their reach has grown, promoting only dog (and sometimes children’s) products they like and use, such as their washable white couch. Earning a couple thousand dollars once or twice a month is a great way to pad their kids’ college funds, they say.
They hope Tyler, 3, and Rachel, 1, will follow in their footsteps at UMD. The family always attends Homecoming festivities, and this year, they brought Bentley as well—a homecoming of sorts for him, since he was part of the Madsens’ engagement shoot at Cornerstone.
“Maybe one of them will become a doctor,” said Brandon, “and we’ll tell them, ‘It’s all because you used to throw a tennis ball for Bentley.’”
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