On Jan. 10, Hadara Bilsky texted her parents, asking if she could get a dog if she got one million likes on an Instagram post. Without hesitation, her parents agreed, not even imagining that it would come true six weeks later.

“I never thought in a million years she would get one million likes,” Hadara’s father Mark Bilsky said.

He thought that Hadara’s idea was funny and “typical Hadara” for always persisting.

According to Mark, Hadara has wanted a dog “for as long as she’s been able to talk,” but Mark and his wife felt it was too much responsibility for their family.

“The child will always say that they’ll take care of it, not to worry,” Mark said. “But my wife and I knew that the responsibility would be borne on us.”

Both of Hadara’s parents work and were unsure if they had the time to add another responsibility to their busy lives. Additionally, their family enjoys traveling, and makes her parents worried about how having a dog would negatively impact this part of their lives.

Hadara never tried a method other than simply asking to persuade her parents to get a dog. Hadara has a brother with special needs and always thought that a dog could be beneficial for him to have as a support companion.

“She knew what she wanted, and up until the Instagram [post], she didn’t have that much of a strategy,” Mark said.

Hadara took a screenshot of the text and posted it on her Instagram. Hadara had seen similar posts on Instagram and wanted to “take a shot.”

“I know that Instagram gets a lot of attraction and a lot of kids my age use it. So I thought it would be a good method to get attention and get one million likes,” Hadara said.

Hadara said when she first posted the text, it began picking up likes very fast. It slowed down for about a week and a half and then once the post reached 850,000 likes, it began to pick up more quickly.

Celebrities including Ivanka Trump, Instagram account DC Food Porn and rookie football player Jonathan Allen all liked the post. Hadara described the overall experience as particularly “riveting.”

Many people were liking the post and rooting for Hadara to get a dog. Senior Deena Karger from Gann Academy in Boston, Mass saw the post on her friends’ Instagram stories. Karger does not know Hadara, but her friends know her from Camp Ramah in New England, located in Palmer, Mass.

Karger liked, commented and reposted the screenshot of Bilsky’s text, as did her friends. She said that it was a fun opportunity and wanted to help Bilsky get a dog.

“I decided to repost it because I was extremely excited for [Hadara] and really wanted her to get this dog. There was really no problem in reposting it,” Karger said.

Karger liked the post when it had about 20,000 likes, but did not think that the post would reach one million. When the post had around 900,000 likes, Karger and her friends were updating each other about the post, and when the post reached one million likes, Karger felt “incredible.”

“I was just really happy that the world worked together to help [Bilsky] get a dog,” Karger said.

Along with many in the community, Mark was hoping the Instagram post would garner one million likes.

“I never thought she would get one million [likes], but I kind of wanted her to. Because I think having a dog would be neat,” Mark said.  “So secretly, I was kind of rooting for her. I really was.”

Currently, Hadara and her family are looking for a dog. Mark thinks that since Hadara is older now, she will be able to pitch in to care for the dog. Hadara wants a rescue dog that is “cute,” and her father says that they are going to get one that is “medium sized.” Additionally, Hadara wants to name her dog Delano after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Maxamillion to pay tribute to her one million likes.

Hadara said that she encourages others to try a similar strategy for something they are passionate about.

“It was pretty exciting how Instagram or social media is a way that people can share things, like their ideas and values, and how quick those things are able to spread,” Hadara said.

This story was featured in the Volume 36, Issue 5 print edition of The Lion’s Tale, published on March 15, 2019.