Pet’s Name: Tuna
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Age: 7
Breed/Type: Chiweenie
Website: tunameltsmyheart.com
Instagram: @Tunameltsmyheart (1.9m)
Facebook: @Tunameltsmyheart (300k)
Tuna’s Favorites:
Activity – Sleeping
Toy – Colin, a green emo hipster alien, who now has his own cult following.
Colin was once lost at a park, and Courtney put up missing persons signs.
He was returned, and now they are inseparable. They even have a calendar, or ‘Colindar’, together!
Food – Popcorn, and cheese
Tuna Melts Your Heart
By Jennifer Galluzzo
When Courtney Dasher adopted Tuna from a Farmer’s Market in LA seven years ago, she was in for quite a shock. The whole process of fostering, adopting, and caring for a rescue was more than she had ever imagined – her appreciation for animal shelters skyrocketed. But with his exaggerated overbite and recessed jawline, there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do for him. Tuna was certainly unique! Upon seeing Tuna, Courtney’s friend told her that she needed to start an Instagram account for him. This was before pet accounts were even a thing. There was no competition and no agenda – just a simple love for her dog and the desire to share his quirky face with people to make them smile. So she started @TunaMeltsMyHeart Much to her surprise, she found out that Instagram featured Tuna on its personal account. His followers climbed from 8,500 to 32,000 – in 12 hours! And this was just the beginning. When you see Tuna, whether on TV, magazines, press tours, meeting fans, selling his customizable merchandise, promoting his book or calendar, or working through his daily routine, his message is simple: beauty comes in all forms. His charming personality certainly shines through his unconventional looks.
Courtney never expected Tuna’s rise to fame. After his first “Tuna Tour,” an 8-city road trip to raise awareness for local animal shelters, she realized that social media could really make a difference. Courtney and Tuna could use these platforms to positively impact so many lives.
Does Tuna have any special or funny talents?
He does something called “big boy kiss” where he will gently raise his mouth and parts his lips to kiss me – not lick me. He also retrieves Colin when I tap my knee twice.
Have you had any unreal moments?
One that pops into my head is when we found out that Reese Witherspoon was doing a rapid-fire question segment with a media outlet. She was asked whom she thought everybody should be following on social media, and she responded with Tuna Melts My Heart. We were in shock! How did she even know who he was?!
