Animal rescuer James Guiliani’s bite is worse than his bark — at least it used to be.
The one-time Gambino family enforcer swore off the mob life long ago to
instead save the lives of Brooklyn’s animal population in his secret
shelter deep in the heart of Bensonhurst.
“Back in the day I would’ve killed someone,” Guiliani tells a visitor
inside the perpetually hectic world of Keno’s Animal Sanctuary. “Now I
enjoy life. I enjoy being alive.”
And yet Guiliani, aka “Dogfella,” hasn’t gone entirely straight. By
taking in wildlife at his operation, he’s violating city regulations.
The current population is 52 critters, and not just cats and dogs.
Lizards, tortoises, birds, squirrels, possums and raccoons fill out the
roster. (The last three are on the city list of animals that are illegal
to keep as pets.)
He’s also rescued a smattering of pigs. Some escaped from local butchers with their necks half cut.
James Guiliani interacts with dogs at Keno's Animal Sanctuary in Bensonhurst on Friday.
Guiliani, 50, sees his job as a calling that he cannot ignore, like the oath taken by a Mafia made man.
“When I got into this, I didn’t want to do it at all,” he admits. “Who
the f--k wants to do this? Would I rather be at the beach in Puerto
Rico? Of course. But I gotta do this.”
Guiliani is proud of the scars on his face and his hands, each one
evidence of his rescue efforts since 2013. He boasts that his last day
off came 1,160 days ago, making him the Cal Ripken Jr. of animal rescue.
He sleeps three hours a night. He walks his dogs in the middle of the
night. He works 18 hours a day. He always leaves his car trunk open.
James Guiliani holds a pair of raccoons.
He might be crazy.
“I have an addictive personality,” Guiliani says.
Dogs arrive in NY after they were saved from slaughter in Korea
“But now I have an addictive personality toward my passion. You gotta
find something in your life. You gotta love it. If I don’t do this,
nobody will.”
Bensonhurst served as a breeding ground for generations of gangsters,
from boss Carlo Gambino to infamous informant Salvatore "Sammy Bull"Gravano to remorseless mob killer Greg "The Grim Reaper" Scarpa.
Guiliani now walks the same streets looking to help, not harm — a far
cry from the days when he was busted for conspiracy to commit hijacking,
kidnapping and armed robbery.
Turtles
are among animals under the care of James Guiliani, a former mob
enforcer. He now runs an animal shelter in Brooklyn. “Back in the day I
would’ve killed someone,” Guiliani said.
There’s an unavoidable parallel between Guiliani and his animal
clientele. Like his pit bulls, he is stocky, strong and dangerous.
Guiliani recalls the days when he would rob, steal, fight, snort cocaine, drink and go out on 96-hour benders.
“Maybe I see my animals like me, grew up and never had a chance,”
reflects Guiliani, who says he downed his last drink 14 years ago.
“Maybe that’s why I do it.”
His current drinks of choice: espressos (15 cups a day) and water (20 bottles a day). The caffeine helps keep him going.
“I rescue, no joke, 60 to 100 raccoons a year,” he declares. “About 30 to 60 possums.”
The rescued wildlife find refuge in the sanctuary basement, one floor down from the dogs wandering free upstairs.
The possums and squirrels are kept in cages. The raccoons are kept in
cages with the locks taped over, because they can use their tiny hands
to unhinge the locks.
One of Guiliani’s raccoons, Gino, is now a fully grown adult and ready
to taste freedom in the wilds of upstate New York or New Jersey.
Guiliani co-owns Diamond Collar, a grooming salon and pet store in
Brooklyn that was featured in a reality show of the same name on Oprah
Winfrey’s TV network OWN beginning in 2013.
One of Guiliani's furry pals interacts with the former mob enforcer on Friday.
Unimpressed city officials said they planned to investigate the animal sanctuary.
“The Health Department regulates shelters to ensure animal safety,”
said a spokesman for the department. “We will look into this.”
Dr. Salvatore Pernice, 54, serves as the veterinarian for Keno’s
animals. He is Guiliani’s polar opposite: calm, short, slow and
deliberate with his choice of words.
James Guiliani talks passionately about his shelter Keno's Animal Sanctuary in Bensonhurst on Friday.
“James is an extremist, but sincere,” explains Pernice. “He’s honest,
dedicated, loud, opinionated. His is a story of redemption — what he did
then and what he does now.”
A plain white mug with black lettering sits in the sanctuary bathroom,
offering a question: “Who Rescued Who?” Nobody knows the answer better
than Guiliani.
“I want to make a difference,” he explains. “I want to leave a legacy.”
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