Dogfella
How an Abandoned Dog Named Bruno Turned This Mobster's Life Around--A Memoir
"How did an addicted ex-con on the verge of suicide become a caring member of the community? With a little help from a Shih Tzu named Bruno. James "Head" Guiliani, a confidante of the Gotti regime, was arrested and jailed on a weapons charge. After his release, he fell back into alcohol and drug addiction--until, one day, he came across an abandoned, abused Shih Tzu in the street. He rescued the dog, whom he lovingly named Bruno, and, in the process, turned his own life around. Dogfella recounts the story of Guiliani's life, from his involvement in street gangs and the infamous Gotti crime family to his incarceration and eventual redemption through animal welfare. Guiliani's new career has led him to save pit bulls from a dog-fighting ring and drive through six-foot snowdrifts to reach 200 cats stranded at a Long Island sanctuary. "-- "How did a former mob enforcer, ex-convict, suicidal junkie and alcoholic become a loving and passionate animal rescuer? James "Head" Guiliani once served as an enforcer and confidante of the Gotti regime until he was arrested and jailed on a weapons possession charge. After his release from prison, James fell back into alcohol and drug addiction. When he hit rock bottom, a chance meeting with Lena Perelli, now James's wife, brought him back from the brink of suicide. And when the couple rescued an abandoned and abused Shih Tzu--lovingly named Bruno--James's newfound love for the dog turned his life around. He would dedicate his life to the protection and care of stray animals.Dogfella recounts the story of James's life from his religious upbringing in a blue-collar Queens neighborhood, to his involvement in street gangs and the infamous Gambino crime family, his encarceration, encarceration, and eventual salvation. James's personal story is interwoven with scenes of his work for the Kenos Animal Rescue Shelter: from saving pit bulls from a dog fighting ring to driving through six-foot snowdrifts to reach 200 cats stranded at a Long Island sanctuary"--
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
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What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Nonfiction
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
Catalog signals suggest violence, death, or criminal harm, abuse or trauma, suicide or self-harm. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.
Dark tone · Steady pace
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
A good fit if…
Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.
This book's DNA
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This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.
Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.
This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.
A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-3068-2443-2
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL36799429M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
- Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
- How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
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