Who let the dogs out?

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) Phew! Who let the dogs out?

If your pooch's mess makes you want to stay on the porch, Jim Ingram wants you to give him a call. For a weekly fee of $8 for the first dog and $4 for each additional dog, he'll clear the little yard mines that man's best friend leaves behind.

My wife and I were watching TV last year, and this story came on about a guy who scooped poop for a living, said Ingram, 43, the owner and sole employee of Doo-Ty Calls Canine Waste Removal Service. She looked at me and said, "You can do that."

At a job site last week, he parked the '78 Chevy bearing the company logo, dropped the tailgate and yanked out the tools of his trade: a narrow rake, long-handled dustpan and a 10-gallon bucket lined with a lemon-scented trash bag.

Ingram let himself through the gate and proceeded to roam the lavishly fertilized lawn in a sweeping search pattern, pausing occasionally to make a collection or cinch-up his bib overalls. A mixed-breed dog followed closely, tail wagging furiously as he sniffed at the man's heels.

I really enjoy doing this, he said. I'm my own boss, I've got flexible hours and I get weekends off.

Ingram can clear a good-sized yard in about a half-hour. When finished, he sprays his equipment with a Clorox solution to avoid the spread of disease. Customers can either have him dispose of the bag in their trash can or ask him to take it away with him. Most choose the latter.

He recognizes that some might find his business distasteful, but he said that dog people understand.

If you're not a pet owner, you probably think I'm out of my mind, Ingram said. There's definitely a repugnance factor here, but I've done crazier things in the past.

He declined to say what those things were, but he did mention a stint as a guard in a state prison.

This job doesn't have anything on that one, he said. I have six dogs at home, so this really doesn't faze me. I have a harder time changing my grandson's diaper than scooping a little poop.

Ingram, who works out of his home in Germanton, is still building his client list. Doo-Ty Calls has only eight regular customers, including a pet groomer and a large apartment complex. The apartments are my biggest job - two or three buckets, easy, he said.

Ingram, also a full-time computer student at Forsyth Technical Community College, wants to expand. He's sent fliers to local veterinarians, and a newsletter and Web site are in the works.

When I tell people what I do, they usually pause for a second, but then they say this is a really good idea. There's no overhead, and service businesses have a lot of profit potential. I'm working in a high-growth industry.

Lisa Wallace, who rescues strays for adoption, saw Ingram's card at her vet's office. She has used his service for a couple of months.

I'm a very satisfied customer, Wallace said. Jim's a wonderful man who provides a very unusual service. I was tired of having to hop-scotch through my yard.

The international directory of the Professional Pooper Scooper's Association lists Ingram as one of four people performing this service in North Carolina - the others are clustered near Charlotte.

I'm the premier pooper scooper of the Triad, he said, only half jokingly. As long as dogs do what comes natural, I'll have customers.

Originally printed in the Winston-Salem Journal newspaper.
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