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<v Speaker 1>This is later with Lee Matthews the Lee Matthews Podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>More what you hear weekday afternoons on the Drive.

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<v Speaker 2>Doctor Amy Addis is an award winning veterinarian and founder

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<v Speaker 2>of City Pets, which for more than three decades has

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<v Speaker 2>been the premier veterinary medical house call practice for dogs

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<v Speaker 2>and cats. She's also the personal vet to the rich

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<v Speaker 2>and famous, including Billie Joel, Paul McCartney, Steve Martin, and

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<v Speaker 2>many more. She's written on a volume of lovely stories

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<v Speaker 2>called Pets and the City, True Tales of Manhattan House

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<v Speaker 2>called Veterinarian, Doctor Amy Addis. Good to have you along today.

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<v Speaker 3>Thank you so much for having me.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think so many people think that celebrities call

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<v Speaker 2>their vet and say, oh, dude, don't let my Moffi's

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<v Speaker 2>feet touch anything, oh than Italian Corduall it's simply not done.

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<v Speaker 2>Is that the case.

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<v Speaker 3>Absolutely not My clients and those are the humans, including

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<v Speaker 3>the celebrities that you mentioned. They're normal people who love

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<v Speaker 3>their pets. And I have the privilege of getting to

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<v Speaker 3>know the celebrities, the billionaires, the normal people. Everyone through

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<v Speaker 3>a different lens, and that's the lens of someone who

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<v Speaker 3>comes and helps care for their pets, and that just

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<v Speaker 3>brings everybody down to the same common denominator. These wonderful

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<v Speaker 3>celebrities you're just mentioned, they're people, and I get to

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<v Speaker 3>meet them and be with them as normal people.

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<v Speaker 2>When they first reach out to you, do you know

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<v Speaker 2>or do they just make a phone call like anybody else's,

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<v Speaker 2>Oh no, my dog's choking on something. What'll I do?

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<v Speaker 3>You pretty much know? And that's helpful because I get

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<v Speaker 3>to like get the woo who's out, you know, in advance.

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<v Speaker 3>So when I arrive at their house, I'm completely professional

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<v Speaker 3>and not star struck.

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<v Speaker 2>So you go to them, not they to you.

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<v Speaker 3>I go to them. I have a veterinary house called practice,

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<v Speaker 3>and I just want to explain to your listeners that's

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<v Speaker 3>from being a mobile veterinarian. A lot of people are

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<v Speaker 3>familiar with mobile vat where you pull up in a

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<v Speaker 3>van and the animal comes out to the van. I

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<v Speaker 3>don't do that. We pull up and we bring all

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<v Speaker 3>of our equipment up to our client's apartments, so we

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<v Speaker 3>are literally working in the kitchens, living rooms, dining rooms,

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<v Speaker 3>and believe it or not, bathrooms. I spend a lot

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<v Speaker 3>of time in people's bathrooms because my cat clients aren't

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<v Speaker 3>always My cat patients aren't always cooperative. So if you

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<v Speaker 3>let a cat go on the living room coffee table

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<v Speaker 3>in a seven room Park Avenue apartment, it could take

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<v Speaker 3>you an hour to find it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, I know it all too well. I have to

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<v Speaker 2>seal point Himalayans and they're very skittish, So yeah, you

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<v Speaker 2>have to confine them as best you can exactly.

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<v Speaker 3>And what I tell my cat people is your cat's

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<v Speaker 3>not going to like me, but they'll like me more

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<v Speaker 3>than the regular veterinarian that they have to go to

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<v Speaker 3>in a carrier and sit in a waiting room with

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<v Speaker 3>barking dogs.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh. Absolutely, we're talking to doctor Amy Addas. Pets in

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<v Speaker 2>the City is her book, True Tales of a Manhattan

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<v Speaker 2>House called Veterinarian. You don't have to name names. I

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<v Speaker 2>understand you have to protect your clients as well. But

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<v Speaker 2>what was one of the more unusual calls that you

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<v Speaker 2>had and how did you remedy it?

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<v Speaker 3>The most unusual call I had was to go to

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<v Speaker 3>the townhouse of a well known billionaire and give a

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<v Speaker 3>Rabi's vaccine to a caricle lynx. And it's you're not

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<v Speaker 3>familiar with what a characal lynx is it is actually

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<v Speaker 3>a while it is not a domestic cat. Now, it

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<v Speaker 3>is illegal to have these in New York City, So

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<v Speaker 3>my first reaction was, I can't possibly do that. But

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<v Speaker 3>the client had a permit for the cat, and they

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<v Speaker 3>had a professional cat handler, and they were transporting it

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<v Speaker 3>back to a location that was a more natural environment.

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<v Speaker 3>And my job was to comply with USD and give

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<v Speaker 3>this cat a Rabi's vaccine, which I did. But boy,

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<v Speaker 3>that was an unusual experience.

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<v Speaker 2>I should say, speaking of how to contain a cat,

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<v Speaker 2>I can't imagine bigger than a domestic cat being held

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<v Speaker 2>up in a New York Man East Side apartment.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah. Well, unfortunately this was a legal one where they

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<v Speaker 3>had permission. But there are stories. Although I've never had

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<v Speaker 3>the personal experience of people having wildcats in their apartments

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<v Speaker 3>like tigers.

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<v Speaker 2>You see some of these celebrities too, in their most

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<v Speaker 2>casual Is there one particular instance that stands out in

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<v Speaker 2>your memory of when you were answered the door in

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<v Speaker 2>a bathrobe or other shall we say, unusual attire.

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<v Speaker 3>So I've never had an experience of a celebrity starting

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<v Speaker 3>the visit without appropriate clothing, but I did have a

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<v Speaker 3>Share was my client, and she had a beautiful little

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<v Speaker 3>rescue dog that she adopted when she was in Italy

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<v Speaker 3>making tea with Mussolini, and I had taken care of

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<v Speaker 3>this dog. She arrived in New York, she was heading

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<v Speaker 3>back to California. She was in for a few days,

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<v Speaker 3>and I had had multiple visits with her little dog, Pepo,

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<v Speaker 3>but I hadn't met her yet, and I was so disappointed.

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<v Speaker 3>So Pipo's treatment, and I tell all the details of

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<v Speaker 3>this in the book, required an injection of a substance

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<v Speaker 3>that stings when you give it. And on the first

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<v Speaker 3>time I gave it, he was quite as can be.

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<v Speaker 3>And on the second visit, when I gave it, he

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<v Speaker 3>screamed bloody murder. And then Chaer came running in the room.

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<v Speaker 3>She was wearing her bathrobe, she had her hair in curlers,

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<v Speaker 3>she had white goop all over her face. It was fantastic,

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<v Speaker 3>and she started yelling, who are you and what did

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<v Speaker 3>you do to my dog? And when I explained, and

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<v Speaker 3>I explained what I was treating and that this potentially

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<v Speaker 3>could be contagious to humans, she opened up her bathrobe

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<v Speaker 3>and her full nakedness said, do you think this could

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<v Speaker 3>be related to what my dog has. It was not.

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<v Speaker 3>She just had a little heat rash. But the point

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<v Speaker 3>was we started out clothes. But in that instance I

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<v Speaker 3>got an eye full of share and it reminded me

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<v Speaker 3>I should go to the gym or off.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we're talking to doctor Amy Adas, Pets and the City.

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<v Speaker 2>True Tales of Manhattan's House called Veterinarian. Did you, when

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<v Speaker 2>you started out in veterinary schools say to yourself, I'm

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<v Speaker 2>gonna be the vet to the stars you watch?

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<v Speaker 3>I did not, But when I started out in veterinary

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<v Speaker 3>school I knew that it was the whole picture that

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<v Speaker 3>I loved. It wasn't just I wanted to work with animals.

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<v Speaker 3>I loved animals, I loved medicine. I loved interacting with people.

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<v Speaker 3>So doing house calls was a perfect way for me

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<v Speaker 3>to do all three of those things and use my

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<v Speaker 3>abilities to the best. So a few things happened. My

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<v Speaker 3>New York experience before starting the house called practice introduced

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<v Speaker 3>me to some people. And this unique style of practice

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<v Speaker 3>is very attractive to the boldface name crowd. So I

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<v Speaker 3>think it just was a natural fit.

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<v Speaker 2>And so you just started on your own and it

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<v Speaker 2>grew into what it is now.

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<v Speaker 3>So I started my veterinary career at a hospital called

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<v Speaker 3>the Animal Medical Center. It's a wonderful teaching hospital with

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<v Speaker 3>one hundred or so veterinarians in it. I went into

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<v Speaker 3>small animal practice on Park Avenue and I worked there

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<v Speaker 3>for four years before starting my house called practice. So

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<v Speaker 3>there was a base before I started, But once I

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<v Speaker 3>started house calls, it just grew exponentially because people love

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<v Speaker 3>the concept.

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<v Speaker 2>I imagine, so and then the word spread, and then

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<v Speaker 2>more and more clients started talking about you and yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>I know a person and they'll come right to your

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<v Speaker 2>place and take care of you. So I imagine that

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<v Speaker 2>you are often running.

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<v Speaker 3>I think the thing that helped my practice the most

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<v Speaker 3>when I first started out was while I was at

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<v Speaker 3>someone's house and the phone would ring. They'd answer the

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<v Speaker 3>phone and say, I can't talk to you right now,

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<v Speaker 3>my vet is here, and then I would hear from

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<v Speaker 3>the one sided conversation, Yes, my vet mixed house calls.

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<v Speaker 3>I'll call you later and give you her number. So

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<v Speaker 3>it was definitely word of mouth.

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<v Speaker 2>Pets in the City is the book. It's the true

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<v Speaker 2>tales of a Manhattan house called Veterinarian doctor Amy Addas

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<v Speaker 2>is that veterinarian and founder of City Pets and the

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<v Speaker 2>book is available everywhere you get your books. Thank you

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<v Speaker 2>for joining us today and doctor thank you for the

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<v Speaker 2>great book.

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<v Speaker 3>Thank you. I enjoyed being here.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening to Later with Lee Matthews, the Lee

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<v Speaker 1>Matthews Podcast, and remember to listen to The Drive Live

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<v Speaker 1>weekday afternoons from five to seven and iHeartMedia presentation