June 8, 2006

Scooping up the business
Bedford woman sees profit in poop

Annette Doucette of Bedford quit her job as an environmental engineer this year to become an entrepreneur. The name of her new business is Poop, Scoop, & Away. She’s a pooper scooper and she tells us why.

Q: Why did you start this business?
Several years ago, I decided I wanted to be a business owner. I wanted to control my own financial future, you know, be in control of that. With every kind of job, every kind of career, everyone’s changing jobs. You don’t have control of that when you work for someone else. So I wanted to take control of my own life in that aspect. For the past year and a half, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I thought I wanted to do something dog-related. Then last summer, I heard someone mention something on the radio, and that night I could not sleep. My brain was just running. I thought, “I’m going to be the best pooper scooper service out there. I started doing a lot of business research, a lot of market analysis, finding out that at least 40 percent of American households have at least one dog and Americans spend billions of dollars on their dogs every year. So it would probably be a great service to get into. And also, there was no competition out here in my area. I did some research on pooper scoopers. I had never seen any advertising of such a service for dog owners. So I said, “Let’s do it.” I registered my business in January and at the end of March I gave my notice and during the second week of April I started doing this.

So it’s something that most people would rather not do, but dog owners should accept the reality that poop happens?
Exactly. It’s a nasty chore. For me to do this for people, it makes dog ownership a more pleasant experience. People are busier these days, both parents working, and they want to spend time with their families and not have to worry about that aspect of dog ownership. Especially on a hot summer day, most people don’t want to be cleaning the yard, but they want to have a clean yard that they can enjoy with their family. And they want a healthy yard. That’s why I’m here.

And it’s a courtesy to neighbors?
Absolutely, because poop piles up and on those hot, humid summer days you can smell it. I consider this to be a luxury service at a non-luxury price. It’s a convenience that I’m selling to people so they have more time to enjoy their lives and not have to deal with that poop aspect.

Tell us about your customers.
The majority of my customers are one-dog clients. They usually sign up for the once-a-week service. I also offer every-other-week service. That’s up to three dogs only. And then also, there’s a twice-a-week service. Some other clients that have two or more dogs prefer that.

There’s also a public health issue involved in this service, and you have professional training in that field?
Yes. I was an environmental engineer for almost 8 years before I decided to be a business owner and launch this new venture. There’s a lot of phosphorus and bacteria in dog waste. When it rains, especially heavy rains, it runs off into the catch basins with the storm water and pollutes public water supplies or recreational waters. And it can shut down beaches and lakes due to the high bacterial content. I disinfect the tools, equipment, and footwear before and after each service visit because disease can be spread from one yard to the next. The disinfectant that I use is biodegradable. It kills a variety of viruses and bacteria.

In fact, that issue is important enough for the City of Manchester to print and distribute a brochure titled, “Pet Waste and Water Quality”?
Absolutely, because there are so many dogs, 40 percent of households have at least one, and 60 percent of those are multiple dog families, and poop happens. If dogs eat once or twice a day, they go as many times as they eat. That’s a lot of waste, and if you don’t pick up after it, it can become a significant issue.

What’s your customer base like?
Right now, my customers are residential homeowners. I go to their homes, scoop out the poop in their yards and take care of it for them. Another aspect is, I can service public and private parks. Whether it be a business park where dogs go or a dog-friendly business park where dogs are invited, they obviously need a place to relieve themselves. Common areas of apartment complexes, homeowner associations, even town parks, especially dog parks, are potential customers.

Are you like a pool cleaner or are you going to work year-round?
Year-round. From my research, a lot of pooper scooper customers will discontinue service in the winter. Because when there’s heavy snow, it’s hard to do a quality job and it can be a hazardous job because of icy conditions. But mild winters would make it easier to keep up with the accumulation of dog waste.

So what do you tell dog owners who think their pets’ poop don’t stink?
Well, you know, it doesn’t if I pick it up for them.
— Joe Cox

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