Luna the viral TikTok dog

Angel Gomez is somewhere in the car, but it’s not him you notice. What you notice is Luna, elbow leaning casually on the open passenger-side window, pink watch on the wrist, pink shades on her eyes, pink polish on her toenails, and matching pink tongue hanging out.

“She’s a girl,” says Angel. “I want people to know that. They always say “‘Hey boy,’ just because she’s a pit. No!”

But she is a watchdog. One, she looks after Angel, who often lives in his minivan; two, she always wears a stylish watch on her right wrist. Watch dog...?

“Oh wow. Look at that!” says Jenny. She’s a hostess at a classy eatery nearby. “Can I take a picture? Would she be okay with that?”

“Oh sure,” says Angel. “A lot of people do.”

The relationship started when Angel’s friend Julio came up to him, opened his jacket, and revealed a pup as cute as, well, pit bull pups can be.

“This was 2010. I had been 10 years without a dog,” says Angel. “I don’t have children, I don’t have a home, and I had always wanted a Bluenose Pit. I grabbed her. Our eyes met. That was it. I had always wanted to hit the reset on pit bulls because they get a bad rap.”

As Luna grew up, Angel started teaching her tricks, such as praying and walking on her hind legs. “But when she sat down with her arm on the window, I said ‘Wow. This is a unique dog.’

“Then this old guy saw her and said ‘Why don’t you put a watch on her? Then she can be a watchdog.’ I did! She loved it. Never tried to take it off. Same with the pink jewel collar. Same with the shades. And she loves the nail polish.”

Then he got Trees, another Pit. The two dogs became inseparable, until Trees developed a kidney problem. The vet had to put her down. “Luna cried, with tears. We were sad for a month. But then I thought, we’ve got to continue our legacy. So I said to Luna, ‘We need to move on.’ So we started cruising like this again. Uploading video. Started getting 100 fans, 200 fans, she got 1000 and then 3000 in June this year. Then one day I was cruising downtown, and pulled up alongside this cool convertible, and the guy, the driver, saw Luna and started taking a video of her. Well, next thing you know, his video went viral on TikTok. One million, two million, three million! Instagram’s #worldstar has 3 million. Barstool, two million. People started messaging me: ‘Hey! Your dog’s famous!’ This was in July. Now everywhere I go, people say, ‘Is that your dog?’ I’ve seen her on TikTok!’ Now she has 27 million views on TikTok, and over 20 million views on Instagram.”

But how to monetize this fame? Angel had flurries of hope with Hot Wheels, especially after Luna learned how to launch them with her paw

“We did get $350 worth of Hot Wheels, and Luna and I did cruise down through Beverley Hills, which I’ve always wanted to do with her. But we’re back in San Diego now. Not rich. I think Mattel pulled out because they were worried about promoting pit bulls. But we’re happy. We’re heading up to Old Town this afternoon. I’ll just park and set the tip jar outside on the sidewalk. Luna will put her elbow out the window. People do a double take. You see their faces relaxing, smiling. We sometimes get great tips. But more than that, they project an overwhelming feeling of appreciation. You can’t beat that.”