Chris and Marcello
Free Upper West Side News, Delivered To Your Inbox
Imagine a birthday where you walk into your apartment and are greeted by eight of your closest friends yelling, “Surprise!” You enter the room and it is enveloped in a palate of rainbow decorations: dozens of balloons, streamers, pom poms and “happy birthday” banners. To top it all off, there’s a custom cake your friends have created, made with your favorite flavors and topped with an edible photo of you. Sounds pretty good, right?
Advertisement
That’s how Marcello, a well-known English Cream Golden Retriever and fixture on the Upper West Side, celebrated his 4th birthday.
Chris Serbagi, the self-proclaimed “obsessed” owner of Marcello, is the human who organized this bash. “He had just turned 4 and I wanted to make his birthday special, so I organized a surprise party for him. I invited eight of his best friends and their owners.” Serbagi shared a video of the surprise, narrating, “When Marcello entered the party he went ballistic! He went person to person, hugging and kissing each one individually. He knew this party was for him!”
WATCH: an Upper West Side dog celebrates his 4th birthday. Full story coming soon. pic.twitter.com/lREhaFmp45
— I Love The Upper West Side (@iLoveTheUWS) May 9, 2025
The over-the-top surprise celebration ended up costing Chris about $600. Included in the cost were Lamp Chop dog toy party favors (as in Shari Lewis’ Lamp Chop), a lavish spread from UWS deli Barney Greengrass, and a $200 custom cake from a doggy bakery.
Advertisement
Though it may seem a tad outrageous, Marcello is well-deserving of a fete of this caliber.
Marcello’s convivial nature leads him to make friends wherever he goes–hence the Upper West Side notoriety. But, in addition to being the neighborhood dog that everyone wants to hang out with, Marcello is also known for his work as a cherished certified therapy dog at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Every week, Marcello and Serbagi visit the hospital and go from room to room, providing joy and comfort to patients. “You’ve made my day,” they tell Serbagi. Rolling around on the floor and “flirting” with the nurses is also a joyful pastime of his (the dog’s).
Marcello also delivers snuggles and smiles to the children of iHOPE, a specialized private school focused on educating students, ages 5-21, with traumatic brain injury.
Serbagi’s idea to certify Marcello as a therapy dog came from an occurrence during a walk one day. “Marcello heard a girl crying on the street, and immediately he pulled me towards her and comforted her. She thanked me profusely and said she felt better. At that point I knew what Marcello was meant for.”
Serbagi remarks that his do-gooder dog is “like a magnet. He will pull me towards people on the street that he knows will like him, and then I meet people and make friends through him as well!”
Advertisement
Even Marcello’s friendly meetings on the street lead to helping others. One such encounter resulted in saving a woman’s life. Says Serbagi, “When Marcello was one, I was walking him on West End Avenue, and he drew me over to a lady who had another English Cream Golden Retriever. I began speaking with her and learned that she had a housekeeper who took care of an elderly woman who had been put in guardianship against her will by her landlord. The woman was dying from being separated from her friends and loved ones. I am a litigator and the dog’s owner asked me to appeal the decision. I was successful, and today she is living under the good care of the housekeeper. Without Marcello, none of this would have happened.”
Serbagi attests that Marcello has changed his life too. “He has introduced me to the neighborhood. It’s a whole new life full of dog people. I meet up with the folks who have dogs that Marcello likes. These are people I invite to vacations and summer houses. My entire social life revolves around this wonderful soul who is all love and kindness, with none of the human flaws.”
Up next for this 4-year-old dog is a June vacation at the Four Seasons in Sicily, where he will visit his human friends from his last jaunt to the island. To have your own meet cute with the extraordinary Marcello, you can usually find him sitting on the benches off Riverside Drive snuggling with his owner.
Bets are on for how Marcello will be celebrating 5!
Have a news tip? Send it to us here!
What a delightful story. Kudos to both. See, there is goodness out there.