Video: Family Guy: Brian's replacement appears in opening credits The cartoon Griffin family didn't waste any time replacing their liquor-swilling, foul-mouthed dog, Brian, who was killed off in a road accident during an episode of Family Guy recently. And similarly, the Family Guy producers have been equally hasty incorporating the new mutt, Vinny, into the opening credits for the show. Vinny, who is voiced by Tony Sirico - best known for playing Paulie 'Walnuts' Gautieri in The Sopranos - is dressed identically to Brian in gold suit and top hat as he performs the same dance moves as Brian once did in the opening credits. Executive producer Steve Callaghan explained the decision to kill of the popular character: "We thought it could be a fun way to shake things up. As soon as this idea came up, we started talking about what the next couple of episodes could be and we got very excited about the way this change will affect the family dynamics and the characters. So it looks like Vinny is here to stay.