City Pets has provided veterinary house calls all over Manhattan since 1992, so founder Dr. Amy Attas has decades of stories to share in her delightful memoir. In Pets and the City, Attas recounts growing from a 13-year-old who used the Yellow Pages to call vets and ask for a job to the creator of a successful practice that exclusively provides house-call services to clients of all vocations and pets of all types. Whether she is treating Cher's dog in a suite at the Waldorf Astoria hotel or visiting the beloved cat of a woman who is a hoarder and lives in a one-bedroom apartment, Attas holds steadfast to her foundational beliefs that "our love for animals defines our humanity" and "our pets make us better people."
The memoir isn't all animal medical care; Attas places fosters and rehomes pets, monitors the emotional and physical health of her human clients, and promotes both shelter rescue and adoption and responsible breeding. Attas is at her best when she's highlighting the universality of pet ownership, from well-to-do owners including Joan Rivers and Billy Joel who spare no expense when it comes to beloved pets, to folks like 90-year-old Mrs. Blum, who told Attas that caring for her senior dog was her reason for living. Attas blends her devotion to animals and love for New York City with just enough of a window into the lives of its residents to make the memoir enjoyable without feeling voyeuristic. Pets and the City will tug on readers' heartstrings, especially those who read it with their furry family members nearby. --Kristen Coates, editor and freelance reviewer