When Vincent Perniola was just seven years old, he found his handicapped sister had been murdered in her own room. After the death of his sister, Vincent’s life began to tailspin out of control.

“My parents started acting different. My mother was depressed all the time and my father stopped talking to people,” Vincent says.

Vincent felt there was no escape from this emotional prison. He started doing drugs and was drinking in excess. Then in 1991, Vincent got a DUI. As it would later turn out, it was the best thing that could have happened to him. While lying in his jail cell, Vincent realized that he could not go on living like this. He decided to do something positive for the community. With that, the Pizza Pup was born.

   “Children always liked when I barked when they came in,” Vincent said. “Kids love dogs and love pizza, I figured I would combine the two.”

   Vincent bought a dog costume from a mascot company and became Pizza Pup. The idea behind Pizza Pup was a simple one: give young kids a role model to look up to so they have confidence in life. Pizza Pup teaches young children to be confident in every aspect of their life. As Vincent calls it, “the power of Yup Yup Yup!”

The response to Pizza Pup has been amazing. Since Vincent doesn’t advertise, all the referrals come from people who have seen him.

“It is such a great feeling to have children come up and tell me they ‘love you, Pizza Pup.’ It warms my heart,” Vincent says.

 The Pizza Pup program is in its fifth year and is a huge success on Long Island, New York. He makes visits to area schools and can almost always be found at his Long Island pizza parlor. At Pizza Pup events, children can get coloring books, chocolate dog bones, balloons, and of course they get to see Pizza Pup and have their pictures taken with him.

Vincent also feels that pizza is perfect way to educate children. “Children love pizza, and pizza can teach them shapes, colors, basic math, and food groups.”

 All proceeds from Pizza Pup go to the Association for the Help of Retarded Children. Vincent tries to give back to the community and feels this can help kids go through their tough patches in life.