Unlikely Companions

by Laurie Hess

  “About that,” I said somewhat reluctantly. “I think Katherine and I might finally be becoming . . . friendly?”

  “Are you kidding?” Marnie laughed out loud.

  I looked down at the ground and nodded almost ashamedly.

  “Well, there goes the neighborhood,” she said and threw up her hands. “I better get out of town before things start to get really weird.”

  We laughed and hugged and cried until we were covered in snow from head to toe. As we drove off in different directions, I felt grateful for what many of the pet owners I’d met over the years had taught me: that the eventual loss of someone you love is worth all that you gain along the way. Marnie loved me in that rare way that our most cherished pets do—without reservation, and no matter what. I’d carry her love with me wherever our lives took us.

  5:00 P.M., VIA VINO

  I MIRACULOUSLY ARRIVED at Via Vino on time, and I also remembered to take off my lab coat before entering the restaurant. I was feeling pretty good about myself until I saw that Peter and the boys were already there. “Over here, Mom,” Brett called out and waved me to a booth in the back. Via Vino used to be a train station, and Brett and Luke have loved the spot since they were toddlers. They especially liked that they could hear the whistle outside the window as the trains pulled out of the station and that, as the cars departed, the dishes vibrated on the tables draped in red-and-white-checkered tablecloths. I slid into the booth next to Peter and squeezed his hand. “I’m so happy to be finally having a date night with all of my boys.”

  Brett was already elbow deep in the cheese plate. For his tenth birthday, we’d gone to Artisanal Fromagerie Bistro in New York City, where we had been served a complimentary starter cheese plate. Brett had been spellbound as our waiter explained the name, origin, and flavor of each wedge of cheese. To our surprise, Brett had devoured nearly the entire plate of selections. Since then, the cheese plate has been his favorite item on any menu, and after ordering dozens of them, he knows enough about cheese to impress most connoisseurs. Really, how many thirteen-year-olds actually know the origin of Mimolette Edam or Boerenkaas Gouda? Luke doesn’t have the same appreciation for a cheesy starter course; he holds out for dessert. But tonight Luke was giving each cheese an honest taste before he tried to convince his older brother that a dribble of hot sauce—his condiment of choice for everything—would improve its “complexity.”

  Snuggled into our cozy booth in the back, we had an unobstructed view out the picture-frame front window of bedraggled commuters coming home on the Metro-North train. I relaxed into Peter’s side with my glass of sauvignon blanc and felt time slow down. I released my responsibility to the pregnant pigs, geriatric ferrets, and eighty-six-pound boa constrictors and appreciated that in this moment, I was just Laurie—wife, friend, and mother. I looked into the familiar faces of Peter, Brett, and Luke and felt my heart swell with appreciation for them, and I recognized their unconditional love for me. I’ve learned to accept that I’ll probably always relate better to animals than people; however, around this cozy family table, I’ll always fit in. I closed my eyes and counted my many blessings. And maybe, if I was exceptionally blessed, tomorrow I might enjoy a day of peace and quiet before the rat race began again.

  EXOTIC PET RESOURCES

  Birds: Association of Avian Veterinarians (http://www.aav.org)

  Reptiles: Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians (http://www.arav.org)

  Reptiles and amphibians: Melissa Kaplan’s Herp Care Collection (http://www.anapsid.org)

  Small mammals (e.g., rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, chinchillas, hamsters, rats, mice, gerbils, and so forth): Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians (http://www.aemv.org)

  Rabbits: House Rabbit Society (http://www.rabbit.org)

  Ferrets: American Ferret Association (http://www.ferret.org)

  Sugar gliders: Association of Sugar Glider Veterinarians (http://www.asgv.org)

  Potbellied pigs: North American Potbellied Pig Association (http://www.pigs.com)

  Hedgehogs: International Hedgehog Association (http://www.hedgehogclub.com)

  Guinea pigs: Guinea Lynx (http://www.guinealynx.info)

  Rats and mice: Rat & Mouse Club of America (http://www.rmca.org)

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  PHOTO: JAMIE KILGORE

  DR. LAURIE HESS, one of only approximately 125 bird specialists in the world, founded the Veterinary Center for Birds & Exotics in 2010 because she wanted to offer exotic pets and their owners a truly unique medical facility that caters only to the specialized needs of exotic species. The center provides comprehensive, cutting-edge care for birds and exotic pets, utilizing state-of-the-art technology—including digital X-rays, ultrasonography, endoscopy, laser, and electrosurgery—and offers the comprehensive care of a large hospital within the personalized setting of a small one. It is the only American Animal Hospital Association–accredited bird and exotic specialty referral hospital in New York (treating patients from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania) and only one of seven such hospitals in the United States and Canada. It is also the only hospital in Westchester County, New York, and surrounding areas that offers emergency phone consultations 24/7/365 for birds and exotic pets.

  Laurie graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Yale University and received her doctorate in veterinary medicine from Tufts University. She completed a one-year internship and two-year residency at the prestigious Animal Medical Center in New York City, where she stayed on to head the Avian & Exotic Pet Service for more than a decade, before opening her own specialized practice. When Laurie isn’t at her animal hospital, she’s at home in Mount Kisco, New York, with her husband and two sons and the rest of their family: Ringo and Lennon, Gloster canaries; Quinn, a Goffin’s cockatoo; Dale, a blue-headed pionus parrot; and Bingo, Gizmo, Bean, and Tilly, a menagerie of cats.

  SAMANTHA ROSE is an Emmy Award–winning television producer, author, and a multi-best-selling coauthor of nearly a dozen nonfiction projects in the areas of health and wellness, diet, lifestyle, how-to, parenting, and memoir.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  YEARS AGO, WHEN a client off-handedly commented to me that I had so many fascinating stories of animal owners and their pets that I should write a memoir, I never imagined that I would actually do it. Many drafts later, I could not be prouder of the memoir that Unlikely Companions has become, and I could not be more grateful to the many people who have supported and encouraged me along the way.

  First of all, to my cowriter, Samantha Rose, I am tremendously thankful. Without her patience, persistence, and belief in our project, we would not have the final version of this narrative, as we dreamed it would be several years ago. Her masterful writing and professionalism are unrivaled and made working with her more fun than work. Samantha truly captured my voice in this book and told my story in my own words.

  Next, I want to thank my literary agent, Yfat Reiss Gendell, for her undying support and encouragement through this labor of love. At every step on the path to publication, Yfat’s reassurance that we would, in fact, reach the end, was truly a comfort. Special thanks, too, to Yfat’s Editorial Associate Jessica Felleman for answering all of my communications throughout the publishing process. I am honored that such an esteemed group as Foundry Literary & Media was willing to take on my project, and I attribute so much of the success of Unlikely Companions to Yfat and her team.

  In addition, I want to recognize our incredibly talented editor, Renée Sedliar, and her group at Da Capo Press, for making our book even better. Samantha Rose and I commented repeatedly, after receiving Renée’s edits, how she truly understood what we were trying to convey in the book and simply helped us say it best. I knew from the first conversation I had with Renée and her group that they were animal lovers and really “got it.” Special thanks to Editorial Assistant Miriam Riad for helping Renée shepherd this project along so smoothly, to Production Editor Cisca Schreefel for keeping the trains running on t
ime in production, and to Director of Publicity Lissa Warren for falling in love with a veterinarian’s story, supporting Renée in bringing me to Da Capo, and of course, for being such an animal lover herself. In addition, thanks to Publisher John Radziewicz and his team member Justin Lovell for supporting this project from the start, to Director of the Art Department Alex Camlin for connecting us with Cover Designer Kerry Rubenstein, who created the most beautiful book cover I have ever seen, and to copy editor Jennifer Kelland Fagan for making us all look better than we could hope to in print. I also want to acknowledge Kevin Hanover and his marketing team at Da Capo for his invaluable advice and guidance in helping me connect this book with the people who love the animals that exotic vets like me care for every day. The enthusiasm and collective efforts of the Da Capo team have been overwhelming.

  Of course, I want to thank my wonderful family for their never-ending patience with me through both the development of my veterinary career and the writing of this book. To my parents, I thank you for enabling me to accomplish my dream of becoming a veterinarian by putting me through veterinary school. To my husband, Peter, and to my kids, Brett and Luke, I thank you for putting up with my long nights at the animal hospital, missed family events, and dinners interrupted by emergency calls to treat critically ill pets. Without all of your support, I would not have been able to open the Veterinary Center for Birds & Exotics and would not have this marvelous memoir.

  In addition, I want to acknowledge my terrific staff—doctors, veterinary technicians and assistants, receptionists, and managers—at the Veterinary Center for Birds & Exotics, without whom I could not run the animal hospital. I spend more time with all of you than I do anyone else, and I am in awe of your talents. Thank you for helping me build our unique veterinary hospital upon which this memoir is based.

  Finally, I want to thank all of the pet owners and their animals whom I have treated over the past two decades. To the literally thousands of clients whose lives I have been fortunate to touch during my career so far as a veterinarian, I thank you for entrusting me with the care of your precious pets and for giving me the stories that make up the memoir of Unlikely Companions. Just as I hope I have impacted all of you in some little way, you, too have impacted me and have made me the veterinarian I am today. Thank you for letting me into your lives and for sharing all of your friends feathered, furred, and scaled.