It's midnight in a bad neighborhood in New York City. In a dark junkyard, a sweet pug is chained to a car bumper. This lonely, cluttered mess is his "home," but not for long.
James "Head" Guiliani, a former street enforcer for the mob, has been rescuing animals for several years. Though he no longer runs with John Gotti's crew, Guiliani still talks with his old friends. One of those longtime friends, Fat George, works in the junkyard where the pug has been kept. Fat George tells Guiliani that a worker supposedly bought the pug from a homeless man for $50 and refuses to move the dog from the junkyard. He needs Guiliani's help.
In the above video from Guiliani's new show "The Diamond Collar," Guiliani and his friend Frank arrive at the junkyard shortly after receiving Fat George's call.
"Is he friendly?" Guiliani asks about the pug.
"Aw, fuggedaboutit," Fat George replies.
The men approach the pug and Guiliani is horrified by the dog's living conditions. "I see this dog who's on a grease-soaked rag. That's his bed," he says. "There's no water in the stupid bucket they have out for this dog. He's on 4 feet of leash."
Even worse, the junkyard is dangerous for the animal. "There's f***ing glass here," Guiliani says, disgusted. "Come on. Are you f***ing kidding me?"
Also in the above video, Guiliani has a message for Fat George to pass along to the workers who had been keeping the pug in the junkyard.
Guiliani talked about his transformation from gangster to animal rescuer on HuffPost Live on Thursday -- and he even brought along a special friend. Watch that interview in the video below.
The series premiere of "The Diamond Collar" airs on Friday, Jan. 17, at 10 p.m. ET on OWN.