I received an ARC version of this book from the publisher。 The author， Dr。 Doug Mader， is a veterinarian hat specializes in exotic animals and purchased a practice， renamed Noah's Ark， with a partner in inner city Los Angeles。 The book is basically a year in the life of Dr。 Mader， and each chapter is a month made noteworthy by having a new extern join the practice every month。 The books seems like an urban All Creatures Great and Small。The stories regarding the animals seem typical for this type I received an ARC version of this book from the publisher。 The author， Dr。 Doug Mader， is a veterinarian hat specializes in exotic animals and purchased a practice， renamed Noah's Ark， with a partner in inner city Los Angeles。 The book is basically a year in the life of Dr。 Mader， and each chapter is a month made noteworthy by having a new extern join the practice every month。 The books seems like an urban All Creatures Great and Small。The stories regarding the animals seem typical for this type of book （not a bad thing） but include a lot of non-typical pets such as snakes， reptiles， and tortoises。 The owners， not surprisingly， are often a big part of each anecdote。 Very interesting details about local animal clubs， especially regarding underground ferret meetups （their owners， not the ferrets）。 It's illegal to own a ferret as a pet in California， but not to treat one。 The book has a recurring villain in another vet that provides a good comparison to Dr。 Mader。So what makes this book special is the counterpart running through the book of the stories of the staff， neighbors， and animal owners。 The timeframe of the events in the book was during the Rodney King beating， trial， and subsequent riots。 Survival stories in the most literal sense include the people at least as much as the animals。 There are some truly poignant incidents which are told without the author getting on a soapbox。 The book was very readable， and is strongly recommended， and NOT just for pet owners。 （I hope that Dr。 Mader and his wife eventually got to spend more time together）。 。。。more