Pets and the City

When a pet is sick, people - even the rich and famous - are at their most authentic and vulnerable. They could have a Monet on the wall and an Oscar on the shelf, but if their cat gets a cold, all they want to talk about are snotty noses and sneezing fits. That's when they call premier in-home veterinarian Dr. Amy Attas. In Pets and the City, Dr. Attas shares all the shocking, heartbreaking, and life-affirming experiences she's faced throughout her 30-year career - like the time she saw a naked Cher (no, her rash was not the same as her puppy's); when she met a skilled service dog who, after his exam was finished, left the room and returned with a checkbook in his mouth; and when she saved the life of a retired, agoraphobic Hollywood producer during a monthly treatment for his cat, Amos. In these moments Dr. Attas noticed key insights about animal, and human, nature - like how humans attach to one another through their love of animals, or how animals don't have the pride, ego, or vanity that their humans seem to value so much, sometimes to their detriment. To Dr. Attas, she doesn't just heal animals. She witnesses how they and their humans help and heal each other, and how the special bond between pet and owner might actually make us better people.