LOL! Celeb Comedians Stand Up for Needy Pets

Justin Silver lives in the best of both worlds. As a comedian and animal lover, he spends his evenings making people laugh, then goes home to hang out with his "mushball" pit bull rescues, Chiquita and Pacino. The New York-based funnyman decided to combine his two passions, and on Wednesday is presenting "Funny for Fido: Comics Stand Up for New York's Homeless Dogs," a comedy showcase in New York City benefiting various animal rescue groups. The View's Joy Behar, 30 Rock's Judah Friedlander and Dave Attell will be among the comedy stars doing stand-up for a good cause. Silver recently spoke to PEOPLE Pets about why he created the event, and his passion for helping homeless dogs and cats.

What gave you the idea for "Funny for Fido"?
Going through the rehabilitation process with my dogs has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Their transformation from mangy, scarred shelter dogs to the confident, beautiful family dogs they are today is truly remarkable. They fill me with so much joy and it breaks my heart to know that they are just two of millions that, given the chance, have the potential to be the wonderful family pets they are supposed to be.

The organizations we benefit -- Mighty Mutts, Earth Angels, Smilin' Pitbull Rescue, and Paws All Around -- work tirelessly to give a second chance to thousands of cats and dogs with nowhere to go. I'm so moved by the work they do. They're all volunteer-based and receive no government funding, so they rely 100 percent on public contributions. I created "Funny For Fido" so they can focus their attention on saving the animals and not just raising funds.

How do you get other comics to participate?
When I tell the comics what I'm doing, they are really eager to be a part of it. It's great because comics like Dave Attell, Pete Correale, Mike DeStefano and Judah Friedlander are some of my favorites to watch. Our audience is split between comedy fans and animal lovers. The comedy fans know how good the show is going to be, and some of the latter don't realize what they're in for! For me, it's amazing to present them with a show that's going to blow them away.

What are your plans for future "Funny for Fido" shows? Would you like to do this more than once a year?
My vision is that this follows in the footsteps of what Whoopi Goldberg, Billy Crystal and Robin Williams did with "Comic Relief," but for animals. Right now we're in the growth stage. This is a new charity. I hope that we continue to grow so that we can support animal-rescue organizations across the country. The network of people who volunteer their time to save animals is huge and I want "Funny For Fido" to be able to help them all in whatever way we can.

I am so grateful to our sponsors, Wellness Dog Food and West Chelsea Veterinary, for their support. I hope other progressively thinking companies see the value in what we are doing and come on board to support us. I don’t know about doing it more than annually, but I do hope to expand to television to bring the event and cause we're so passionate about to a national level.

So your dogs are rescues? Tell us a bit about them.
I can talk about these guys forever! Chiquita is my pit bull-border collie mix. She is feisty, eager to please and eager to test my patience every day. Paws All Around rescued her when some punk teenagers threw her over their fence. She had a wire hanger wrapped around her neck for a collar. Now she is the pride of my entire family. Her smile is my favorite thing to look at. Pacino is my male pit bull. He is without a doubt the friendliest dog on the planet. I can't walk down the street because he stops to greet every single stranger that passes him by. He has come so far because when I adopted him, his skin was being eaten away from mange. I nursed him back to health and today he is so beautiful -- his coat is a majestic brindle that looks gold in the light.

I love it because pits have the worst reputations and these two defy that reputation in every single way. They are giant mushballs and even sleep with my cats! They are so well-trained and even shut the doors and lights in the house on command. Their favorite activities are chasing golf balls in Hudson Park and swimming in the ocean -- literally for hours -- on the Jersey Shore.

The "Funny for Fido" event takes place Wednesday, June 3, at 8 p.m. at Caroline's comedy club in New York City. Can't make the show? You can donate online at funnyforfido.org!