Joe Gatto’s Dog Rescue Shelter Is Rebranding amid Sexual Assault Allegations Against the Impractical Jokers Star

Joe Gatto’s wife, Bessy Gatto, announced that the couple’s dog rescue shelter is rebranding as Cannoli’s Sweet Life Senior Rescue.

The Long Island rescue shelter was previously known as Gatto Pups and Friends, but on Monday, March 31, Bessy announced via Instagram that the company’s name has changed. She noted that the new moniker is in honor of the dog, Cannoli, who inspired Bessy to launch the shelter.

Bessy, 42, made the announcement days after Joe announced on Wednesday, March 26, that he decided to enter an in-patient facility, after multiple women came forward and accused him of sexual assault and sexual harassment. “Having taken some time to reflect, l’ve decided to voluntarily enter an inpatient program to continue working on myself,” the married father of two said in a statement to PEOPLE.

On March 20, a TikTok user who goes by joozyb, accused Gatto of sexually assaulting her when she was 19 in a series of now-deleted videos, allegations which Gatto has denied. Shortly after, a second woman — a source who previously worked for Gatto during his time on Impractical Jokers — claimed that the comedian exhibited unwanted behaviors that she described as sexual harassment.

Bessy explained in the caption of the March 31 announcement that the shelter is “focusing a bit more on the dogs that helped get us here.” She also included a statement in the Instagram carousel, saying she is entering “a new chapter of [her] journey in dog rescue.”

She shared that since the shelter was created in 2022, more than 200 senior dogs and 135 have found their forever homes.

Bessy explained in a video that the shelter was created after she got her dog, Cannoli. Soon, however, she was spending more time at the veterinarian’s office than at home, which is how she learned about puppy mills. Eventually, she “started going to shelters to stop supporting places that utilize puppy mills and to rescue dogs that survived.”

Then she “fell in love” with a small 15-year-old senior dog, Mishkeen, in 2016. “After adopting a couple more seniors, I realized that it wasn’t enough, and I wanted to do more to connect more senior dogs with humans of their own,” she wrote in the statement.

“And that’s how this rescue started! I can’t imagine myself doing anything else in the world, and I hope you will keep supporting these precious babies until every dog has a home.”

“Thank you again for your continued support. I can’t wait to see all of the magic we can continue making in the lives of senior dogs, together. Today, tomorrow, and everyday beyond-golden years start here,” the statement concluded.

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If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.