Around one year ago, Tyler Yaney went viral on social media after he decided to start posting videos of his Uber rides with his dog Timber, a golden retriever Australian shepherd mix. Since then, Timber's fanbase has continued to grow rapidly and now they have added a cute new puppy passenger to the mix.
“I love what I do, I make people’s day all the time,” Yaney said. “Honestly it’s a little therapy for me and a little therapy for them.”
Their account, Timbersgottaroll, now has around 130,000 followers between Instagram, Facebook and TikTok with fans from all around the globe. Last week, Yaney got Timber a sister, a little English cream golden retriever puppy named Milly Grace.
According to Yaney, the reactions from fans and riders to Milly have been extremely positive. He said that on Wednesday he had an emotional customer tell him that Milly reminded him of a dog that he used to have, and another family that messaged him to say that he and the pups were the highlight of their vacation.
“I have moments like that all the time where people are like ‘you have no idea how much I needed this,’” Yaney said. “I get it, sometimes I need Timber too.”
Timber occupies the passenger seat, although he often crawls into the backseat for cuddles with new companions, and Milly now sits proudly on the center console for rides. Yaney said Timber has been pretty indifferent to Milly so far but the pair are warming up to each other and recent Facebook posts showcase the two pups cuddling and spending time together.
Yaney has been driving for Uber for around 10 years, and Timber has accompanied him for around seven years. Before Timber, Yaney had been taking his previous dog, Shannon, with him on rides after she jumped the fence out of the yard one day.
“I started bringing her by accident,” Yaney said. “I was like ‘I’m late for this ride, you’re coming with,’ and my rider just absolutely loved it. I always thought about bringing her with, and then I just kept doing it.”
Yaney started filming videos with Timber around a year ago when he hit what he described as an extremely difficult patch of his life. While Yaney was adjusting to moving back to Missoula from Chicago, Timber got extremely sick with meningitis and racked up a $20,000 vet bill. For about a month, Timber lost control of his limbs and was unable to walk on his own. Around the same time his car broke down, and the furnace in his newly purchased house was having issues.
With a few hundred dollars, Yaney decided to invest in some equipment to start filming videos in hopes that he could make some extra income to tackle his debt.
“I was afraid to leave him home alone after he got sick,” Yaney said. “I didn’t want to stop driving and I was looking for alternatives. I saw people making money there and thought ‘why not try?’”
Within 14 days of Yaney posting his first video, Timber went viral in a clip where he and Yaney comforted a woman whose dog had recently passed away. The video, which Yaney said has over 6 million views, was picked up and shared by other pages, and he and Timber were also commended for their kindness by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker on Facebook. Yaney said Timber basically paid off his own debt through the videos.
"It was weird," Yaney said. "I was getting messages from all of these random people, and everyone was being really nice to me, which was awesome because I was struggling at the time."
Kylie Minogue, a Missoula local who has the same name as the Australian pop star, has known Yaney since before he started driving Uber but said that she has ridden with him many times since Timber was a puppy.
"Every time we would get in the car it was three of us girls squealing with delight," Minogue said about Timber. "Whenever he'd climb into the backseat, you just get excited and feel special that he picked you."
Minogue said it has been great to see Yaney and Timber's popularity on social media grow.
"At first I was like 'Look at him go put himself out there on the internet, that's a scary thing to do,'" Minogue said. "Then seeing what a great reaction everyone had, and how much people loved him, I was like 'Yeah, he's a great guy, he deserves it,' and Timber is obviously a sweetheart."
Although Yaney receives predominantly positive reactions to Timber, he said that occasionally riders have been upset that a dog is in the car.
“We definitely piss people off,” Yaney said. “I can get along with anyone but sometimes you just meet those people where it’s like, ‘you’re just a wet blanket.’”
Yaney said he had been driving both Lyft and Uber, but that Lyft was not happy with him bringing Timber along for the rides after a few people had reported him.
“I am sympathetic to people with pet allergies,” Yaney said. “I’m pretty sure I am allergic to them, but I don’t care, the amount of joy they bring will always outweigh my discomfort.”
Yaney said he also understood people that are afraid of dogs but assured that Timber is the friendliest dog. He said he had a regular in Chicago who was terrified of Timber at first but eventually grew to love him.
Yaney said he plans to continue driving Uber for a while with the hopes of brightening more people's days through the dogs, including through their social media content.
"Timber has been the best dog, he's such a good boy," Yaney said about Timber riding along. "He's good with other dogs and people. You are basically doing a little therapy dog session every time."