Ari was born in Round Rock and raised in Frisco, Texas. He has a bachelor's degree in Integrative Studies from the University of North Texas, where he studied Journalism, Business, and Sociology. Ari has always loved animals and felt inspired watching both Steve Irwin's The Crocodile Hunter and Animal Planet as a kid. Between that and visiting his family vet with his childhood pets, he had always pictured himself working with animals. For many years, Ari considered studying zoology, as he was frequently lucky to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo when seeing family in Nebraska. He's worked with VCA since January 2023.
As a client service representative, Ari's special veterinary interest is in helping educate clients on the importance of regular preventive care and testing with their trusted veterinarian. His favorite part of his job is helping families and their pets. He believes all our clients should know that there is always much more happening behind the scenes than meets the eye. Many of us got into veterinary medicine because of our love of animals, and our love and compassion can lead to real pain behind the scenes. At the end of the day, he hopes that everyone understands we want to help empower you to do everything you can for your pet, because we truly love and care about them too.
At home, Ari has many pets. He has Kirby, a fun and spirited Pembroke Welsh Corgi. Then there's Winnie, a silly and energetic golden retriever. Then there's the cats, Raven, Misty, and Oliver. Raven was a small black rescue kitten from the SPCA, where, for a time, they were unsure if she'd be adoptable due to her social anxiety. She and Ari connected immediately and surprised the staff. They've been inseparable since. Misty has been with Ari's family since he was in middle school. She is a princess and a queen in her own right and loves to sunbathe and sit directly in front of his mom's computer monitor when she's trying to work. Oliver came from VCA Preston Park! He was brought in as a barn-cat rescue kitten, and Ari fell in love with the tuxedo immediately (he had a childhood tux that Ollie reminded him of). Last, but not least, Ari has three chickens. There's Pepper, the black and white speckled barred rock hen, and then there's Piper and Poppy, the golden Orpington hens. Ari's family has always joked about having their own little zoo.
If Ari could be any animal, he thinks he'd be a spoiled housecat. Well-fed and loved, no worries in the world, just meow, meow, meow.
The best piece of advice he feels he's ever received was to be fearless, to do it anyway, to do it scared, to not let fear stop you from achieving your goals and dreams. His favorite inspirational quote ties in with that and is, "Don't let anyone ever tell you the sky is the limit when there are footprints on the moon."
In his free time, Ari loves to play video games with his friends, hang out with his family and pets, read a deeply detailed fantasy novel (or write his own!), and laugh or make others laugh.
