You may not know Dylan Mooney by name yet, but you likely know his daughter, Baylor. A video of Baylor dancing to a Beyonce song while holding a corndog has brought joy to people around the globe. While she has certainly been the one in the spotlight, we thought we’d turn it to her dad for a moment so you can learn more about the father of this viral sensation.

Who is Dylan Mooney?

Dylan was born here in Reno and has lived here for the majority of his life (save for a few years that he was away for school in Idaho and serving a church mission in Canada). He and his wife, Brooke (also a Reno native), met here in Reno and started dating when they were in high school. They’ve been married for nearly 5 years (March 21st) and have been together for 10 years (they were married 5 years to the day after they started dating). While Baylor, who will turn two years old on March 12th, has gotten a lot of attention lately, Dylan and his wife are also parents to Krew (age 3.5).

Dylan works for REMSA as a 911 dispatcher, answering emergency calls and dispatching ambulances. He’s been with REMSA for two and a half years and raves about the experience. Ultimately, Dylan is working toward his lifelong dream of joining a fire department in the Reno/Sparks area.

When he finds rare spare time, one of Dylan’s favorite hobbies is woodworking. He notes that he has been able to progressively grow his experience, all the while accumulating more tools which amplifies his ability. “My wife makes sure she always has a long list of projects for me to do to add to our home and I love every minute of it.” said Mooney, “I love having a homebuilt piece in our home; it’s always a conversation piece and I have that sense of pride knowing ‘I built that.'”

The Life of an Internet Sensation

We asked Dylan about Baylor’s video, and what life has been like since it caught fire on the internet:

“This past week of our lives has been different than any other. Our little girl, Baylor, was having a dance party in the kitchen with mom and brother, (something that occurs regularly in our house hold). My wife just happened to record the most perfect video of Baylor dancing to Beyonce while holding a corndog. When the video was first posted to Facebook it was intended for just family and friends, until we had requests from others to make it public so they could share it with their friends and family.”

“From there, it just snowballed and gained steam to where it now has more than 23 million views and has been on countless news channels including CNN, Fox News, ABC News and numerous TV talk shows. We are still hearing of it being shared and growing in views now a week later. We love all the positive comments that we have received about our little girl from literally across the world. We hope that she can continue to create and share her joy with everyone for the rest of her life as she really is such a happy and outgoing girl!”

The Reno Dads Fatherly 5

We like to ask our spotlighted dads these 5 questions about fatherhood. Here’s what Dylan had to say:

1. What was your reaction when you first found out you were going to be a father?

I was beyond excited, as I’m sure most dads are. I knew I always wanted to have children and when that day came it was such a joy.

2. What was something you learned from your dad that’s made you who you are today?

The number one lesson that I learned from my dad was hard work. My dad always worked hard and did all that he had to do to make sure that we, as his kids, had what we needed and often what we wanted (but not in a spoiled way). He took good care of us and taught us to work hard and work for the things we wanted. I, too, want to do that for my kids in both giving them what they need while teaching them the value of working hard.

3. What has been your funniest fatherhood moment so far?

One that comes to mind occurred just recently. As I go to shave my face, my 3.5-year-old son grabs his pretend razor, gets out the shaving cream and shaves his face right along with me, following every step that I do. I knew the day would come when I would help teach him to shave but I didn’t think it would be so soon!

4. What’s your favorite part of being a father?

Having kids has been such a blessing. Don’t get me wrong, it has its tough days and its lows; but, I love my two kids and the time I get to spend with them. That is one of my favorite things; just having little buddies that I get to hang out with who look up to me and want to do everything that I am doing.

5. What do you hope your children have learned from you by the time they’re adults?

I hope that my children will be even better parents that I am. I hope to teach them the important things in life and how to make tough decisions so when that time comes they will know what to do and how to make it through any obstacle. In a world that often times seems to be dark and cruel, I hope they can be a light and a leader that people will look toward for help and support as someone they can rely on. I hope they choose to make the right choices, to be kind, to help those in need, and to always smile and be happy.

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Well, Dylan and Brooke are certainly off to a good start. Not only do their kids smile, Baylor is spreading her happiness around the world. Keep up the good work, Mooney family!