No, we don’t live hip-deep in dog doo. Nor have my dogs learned to use the toilet.
As a new resident of Michigan, I had my first experience with scooping in freezing temperatures this winter, and it will come as no shock to my fellow Midwesterners that I didn’t like it much.
I had assumed that frozen poops would be easier, not harder, to scoop. I was wrong. You see, for those, like me, from warmer climes, fresh poop is warm. That means it melts the ice or snow on which it falls, and then that slowly re-freezes into something of which I believe the technical name is “permafrost.” Or “permapoop.” Either way, after actually snapping my scooper in half while trying to hack at a hunk of poopsicle, I gave up.
I went to Google, typed in “pooper scooper service in Michigan,” and discovered The Pet Butler. I phoned them and learned that yes, they do service my town (not a done deal, since I’ve had trouble finding just about every service you can think of, despite what seems to me to be a pretty convenient location less an hour or less from three major cities — Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Flint. But I digress). I signed up.
Joel, who owns the local Pet Butler franchise, turned out to be a dedicated small business guy and true dog lover. Rawley in particular worships him, and while I do lock the dogs in the house when Joel gets here, once or twice I’ve gone out with the dogs to talk to him and I have to say, his skillz at going through a gate without letting even one needle-nosed sighthound go with him are really quite mad.
And how many businesses can you say the following about: Never late. Never done a bad job. Never not come, despite rain, sleet, hail, snow, and mosquitoes, which in Michigan is the same as saying “gigantic bloodsucking forces of pure evil.”
I really only meant to use The Pet Butler until it warmed up, but unless my personal economy collapses, I’m a customer for life.
And no, they don’t come every day. I’m on the twice-weekly plan, and yes, I lied in the beginning of this post. I still scoop. But it’s awesome knowing if I get sick, or it’s 4 degrees out, I don’t have to scoop.
Because of all the things I love about dogs, scooping? Not one of them.
Note: Originally posted at HonestDog.com. Click below to read the comments on the original post.
7 Comments to “Why I outsourced my pooper-scooping”
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CathyA 16 June 2012 at 3:38 am #
Permapoop?
Nope, the term is poopscicle! -
YesBiscuit! 16 June 2012 at 10:30 am #
If you want to use him for the colder half of the year and send him to me for the hotter half of the year, I’ll go in on the bill with you. Winter scooping in SC is no problem. It’s the summer that’ll kill you.
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zevathedog 18 June 2012 at 10:50 am #
What a great idea. My mom would love to have a Pet Butler. My dad makes a big deal out of scooping poop on weekends. Puts the chore on his to do list and everything. The rest of the time it’s mom’s job. We live in New England and have broken many scoopers.
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Phyllis DeGioia 19 June 2012 at 8:02 am #
It’s a texture thing, Christie. It helps to get to the poop when it’s not quite frozen solid, although that often feels pretty much impossible to accomplish. And yes, the technical term in winter climes is “poopsicle.” Much preferred, actually, to scooping in August, when the odor makes me want to faint.
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Rori 19 June 2012 at 8:51 am #
I always called them “shitsicles.” The worst is during mud season, when they absorb more heat than the snow and ice around them, and form a little melted glacial shit-lake.
Hot as it is where I am now, I thank the universe often for my colony of dung beetles. Give them an hour, and poof! poop is gone.
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We also used a poop service for a year, before we had to stop due to our own finances. We loved them. They were here once a week, never missed a day, year round (in MN). They also offer a spring cleanup for a reasonable price which is awesome if you don’t want the year round service. My dogs loved them, because they would hide treats around the yard for them to eat once they left.
I’ve heard about services like this! I’m not sure there are any in my immediate area. It sounds pretty awesome, really.