A beloved family-owned pet store in West Islip is preparing to close after serving Long Island for more than half a century. BTJ’s Jungle, which first opened in 1969, will close its doors for good this coming February.

For co-owner John Niehoff, the decision is bittersweet.

“We are all getting older now. We all have health issues and time to retire... Something we really don't want to do,” he said. “I've been here since 1969, since I've been in first grade.”

John and his brothers, Bill and Tom, have run the store together for decades. They say the changing retail landscape has made it difficult for small businesses to survive.

“It's a rough business now. It's not the way it used to be,” Tom Niehoff explained. “Everything is unfortunately Chewy and Amazon. And there's no place for a mom-and-pop store anymore.”

Still, BTJ’s Jungle was never just a store - it was an experience. From floating shark statues to a massive Megalodon jaw, the shop offered a “wow factor” that customers couldn’t find at big-box chains. Generations of families have walked through its doors, with grandparents recalling visits from their own childhoods.

For longtime customers like Sabrina Vaiana, of Babylon, the closure is upsetting.

“We've come here since I was like a little kid. And I got my first pet here. I got a snake when I was five,” she said. Thirteen years later, she and her father Joe still frequent the shop.

“It's heartbreaking, actually. We bought so many pets from here,” Joe Vaiana added.

Employees feel the loss just as deeply. Makiya Walker, who has worked at BTJ’s Jungle for eight years, described the store as “like a second home.”

“The animals are here. It's home.” She, too, purchased her own pets from the shop. “I got my rabbits from here. I got everything, my birds,” she said.

The Niehoff brothers say their passion for animals fueled the business from the start.

“You got to have the passion for animals, and the animals, they love you back. They give you a love, that unconditional love,” Tom reflected.

While the family hopes someone might purchase the business and continue its legacy, they admit the future is uncertain.

“We would love to find a home for the business, but I don't know if it's ever going to happen,” Tom said.

“It was a good, good time. A good run that me and my brothers had," said John.