Pets and the City: True Tales of a Manhattan House Call Veterinarian

From a young age, Attas aspired to become a veterinarian, and though she had to overcome her tendency to pass out at the sight of blood, she succeeded. In the 1990s, Attas, then an associate veterinarian at Park East Animal Hospital, inadvertently became the preferred veterinarian of the senior veterinarian’s celebrity clientele; thus, he fired her. This turn of events springboarded Attas’s small-animal, house-call practice. Her clients have included Joan Rivers, Billy Joel, Steve Martin, and a slew of ultra-wealthy Manhattanites living in homes with unobstructed Central Park views. Attas doesn’t shy away from divulging client particulars, positive and otherwise; some (but not all) client names have been changed. Attas shares tales of owners who spare no expense in treating their pets, as well as those who neglect them. She emphasizes how pets remain upbeat and adapt quickly in the face of life-changing traumatic events, and she reminds listeners that both pets and humans are healthier when they have each other. The audio is refreshingly narrated by Adrienne Cornette, who incorporates various dialects of clientele throughout.