Vinny is a dog purchased by the Griffins at Quahog Pets as a replacement for Brian in "Life of Brian" following Brian's death.
There, they find Vinny, a "pussy hound" who claims to be 1/16th cat. He wins over Peter by being able to talk and suggests that if he is sent to fetch a stick, he could bring back an iPhone that "fell off a truck" instead. Feeling guilty that he was unable to save Brian since destroying his time machine, Stewie at first refuses to accept the new dog until he discovers that Vinny had just lost his previous owner around the same time and thought he and the Griffins needed each other and comes to accept Vinny.
As of "In Harmony's Way", he replaced Brian in the "Theme Song".
In "Christmas Guy", Vinny helped Stewie distract his past self so he could steal the return pad from his backpack and travel back in time to save Brian. As a result, the family never got Vinny from the pet store and he and the Griffins never met.
Vinny is voiced by Tony Sirico.