love is love
When most of us are still treasuring our last few hours of sleep, Ralph, or Ray as he insists on being called, is waking up bright and early at 3:15 am to work out and get his mindset right for the day. By 5:15am he’s at the office doing whatever needs to be done before Natural Pet Outlet opens its doors. As the lights turn on you’re greeted with what feels like hundreds of pictures on the walls showing all the happy pets that come through these doors. Everything is neatly stocked, and the sign on the door proudly invites your four legged friends in for a bath, a belly rub and a treat! Ray’s mission: to only bring his guests the very best brands and products at the lowest possible prices. Welcoming at least 180 customers every day, it is safe to say that Ray Arabia has found his passion.
Photo Cred: Marta Muryn Portrait
After graduating high school, Ray came to a crossroads, like many kids do. He chose to take a hard right and join the Air Force where he served for five years as an auditor. Unfortunately, Ray found it incredibly difficult to find a job after being discharged, regardless of having years of experience in the military and an accounting degree under his belt. Did that stop him? What do you think? Ray brushed himself off and decided to move forward by getting his GI bill to pay for an RN degree. He felt a calling to be of service to veterans and children and this was the way to do it. He had a job lined up but as fate would have it, the week he graduated, he got a phone call from his brother Mark that would change the course of his life.
Mark, who still lived in Pennsilvania, owned a pet store called Pets Plus. In 1993, due to an unpostponable trip (and Murphy’s Law coming into play when Mark’s store manager quit), he reached out to Ray with a huge request to come watch the store for him for a couple of weeks. Understanding the urgency, Ray postponed his job as a nurse in order to help. Serendipidously, Ray fell in love with retail and—spoiler alert—never became a nurse! When I asked him what made the position most attractive, his answer burst out before I could even finish the question. “People. I just love their stories.” Today, Ray and his wife Lisa, now own 9 Pet Plus stores between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and lucky for us, two Natural Pet Outlet locations in Monroe and Bridgeport, Connecticut.
October 23rd marks Natural Pet Outlet’s 10 year anniversary at the Bridgeport location (cue the party)! Ray and the crew are preparing an all-day anniversary event for their customers from 9am-6pm called “Love is Love”. It’s a message that he saw stamped on a tshirt one day, and now is painted on the side of his store by Norwalk street artist Raf Santaella (a.k.a. @5ivefingaz). Starting today, everyone is invited to swing by the store and grab a rock from the outside perimeter, paint a positive message on it and then place it under the Love is Love mural. The goal is to surround the store with vibrant colors and messages of friendship, encouragement, positivity and, of course, love. The top 100 rocks will be awarded a $25 gift card each. This is just another way that Ray is excited to give back to his community and customers. We see him doing this in countless other ways throughout the year, starting with Free Pictures with Santa for your pets, Stockings that trigger donations to St. Judes, and assisting at his local VA Hospital.
So what’s the parting message?
Love who you are.
Love what you do.
Love each other.
The rest will follow.
