cover image All the Comforts of Home

All the Comforts of Home

Robert X. Leeds. Dodd Mead, $0 (192pp) ISBN 978-0-396-08881-3

The ""tragic and needless loss'' of his pet in a boarding kennel motivated Leeds to found American Pet Motels outside of Chicago, which, he claims, boards more than 12,000 domestic and exotic animals annually. Pet owners will be educated by detailed horror stories of abuses perpetuated by kennels and catteries and may be somewhat reassured, if not amused, by the precise explanation of APM's innovative amenities: soft music, mailboxes (owners' letters are read to pets), self-replenishing water bowls and, in special suites, wall-to-wall carpeting, brass beds, a daily supply of fresh sheets and Mickey Mouse telephones. Although he uses the book as a forum to censure unethical veterinarians and his former partner, McDonald's Ray Kroc, there are also entertaining tales, which don't dispute Leeds's suspicion that ``anyone who owns a pet acts a little deranged at times. But anyone who stays in the pet-boarding business has to be totally insane.'' Photos not seen by PW. (April)