Local Pet Shop Owner Pens Memoir

While other children were setting up lemonade stands, Marc Morrone, pet expert and owner of Parrots of the World in Rockville Centre, took a different approach to youth.

"I was going to the swamp, catching salamanders and frogs and selling those on the side of the road," Morrone said.

His early desire to share his love of animals helped Morrone grow into a pet store owner, a television personality and, most recently, the author of his first memoir, "A Man for All Species: The Remarkable Adventures of an Animal Lover and Expert Pet Keeper." With a forward written by his longtime supporter Martha Stewart, Morrone's book chronicles his adventures with animals, both domestic and wild, throughout his 40-year career.

Morrone, a Cold Spring Harbor native, opened Parrots of the World on Sunrise Highway in September 1978 just after he finished high school. During his school years, Morrone worked in a garden center and dreamed of owning a zoo. But when a job opportunity at the Bronx Zoo didn't pan out, a pet store seemed like a fitting solution.

As his career developed, Morrone became a television personality in cable shows like The Family Pet, his current series on Cablevision's News 12 Long Island station. "I like The Family Pet because it's a small show so I can do and say what I want," he explained

Though writing was not something Morrone had planned on exploring, an opportunity arose when Cablevision bought Newsday, and he was asked to write a column based on his show. BowTie Press, a pet book publisher, read the column and asked Morrone to write four books based on his expertise: "Ask The Fish Keeper," "Ask The Dog Keeper," "Ask The Cat Keeper," and "Ask The Bird Keeper."

"When people see me on television, they usually want to know more about me," Morrone said about his inspiration for turning his personal memories into a book.

An emotional appearance on The Martha Stewart Show after Parrots of the World was burglarized caught the attention of a literary agent. "I was basically crying into Martha's bosom on national TV," Morrone said.

The agent recognized the store owner's zeal for animals, flew to New York to meet Morrone and helped sell his book, "A Man for All Species" to Random House. 

Morrone said he's already developing his next project, a species-specific book, but his pet shot remains his passion. "Reading a book about animals doesn't show you how they smell, behave and eat," he added. "My store is my laboratory."