Help Joey start this new phase of his life

On 4/19/25 our dear friend Vinny Guarneri unexpectedly passed away. He was a volunteer at Animal Nation for over 20 years but more importantly the sole caretaker for Joey, his developmentally disabled brother. Anyone who knew Vinny has met or heard about Joey. Joey is the most innocent, kindest person ever. Vinny was utterly devoted to him. Vinny dedicated his life to making sure that Joey had everything he needed and always put him first. He retired early from his job as a NYC bus mechanic to care for Joey. They spent almost all of their time together. Vinny brought Joey to and from all of his appointments, provided all of his favorite meals, and would get him all the things he needed to make sure he was happy including his favorite polka CDs and dvd sets. Joey would even accompany Vinny on rescues and ride with him in the jeep.

Now that Vinny has passed, Joey is going to be starting a new chapter of his life. Getting him comfortably settled in is a priority. There will be many changes and he’s going to need some help. Patrick has taken over Joey’s care which is what Vinny always wanted. Making this transition as smooth and stress free as possible is very important.

We are asking for donations to go directly to Joey’s care. We would like for him to thrive and have the best of everything we are able to provide both now and in the future as Vinny always wanted. These things include the basics like new clothes, shoes, toiletries, food and more. We would like Joey to have the fullest life possible and hope that these donations can help make that happen.