It’s a dirty job, but Bedford company’s willing to do it

Friday, February 3, 2012

Staff photo by Bob Hammerstrom
Annette Kuhn keeps an eye out for dog droppings Tuesday, January 31, 2012, as she cleans up a clients yard in Goffstown. She owns Poop, Scoop & Away, a company that cleans up after dogs do their job on the lawns.

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Staff photo by Bob Hammerstrom
Annette Kuhn has expanded her company, Poop, Scoop & Away, hiring additional employees to help her clean dog droppings off clients lawns.

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Staff photo by Bob Hammerstrom
Annette Kuhn searches for dog dropping on a client's lawn Tuesday, January 31, 2012, in Goffstown.

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Staff photo by Bob Hammerstrom
Another yard cleaned up in Goffstown Tuesday, January 31, 2012, by Annette Kuhn, as her company, Poop, Scoop & Away cleans up what dogs leave behind.

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Staff photo by Bob Hammerstrom
Annette Kuhn

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Staff photo by Bob Hammerstrom
Annette Kuhn keeps an eye out for dog droppings Tuesday, January 31, 2012, as she cleans up a clients yard in Goffstown. She owns Poop, Scoop & Away, a company that cleans up after dogs do their job on the lawns.

Enlarge Purchase Photo

For more information, visit www.poopscoopandaway.com or call 472-7007. Poop, Scoop & Away is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Poop-Scoop-Away-LLC/369620401083.

For Granite Staters, spring is a welcome respite from the harsh New England winter. Dog owners are just as glad to see the warm weather as their canineless counterparts, but the melting snow may reveal an unsightly accumulation in their yards that may dampen their spirits.

That’s where Poop, Scoop & Away comes in.

“Basically, it’s a pooper scooper service,” owner Annette Kuhn said of her Bedford-based dog waste removal service.

Kuhn and her three field technicians visit homes and businesses, making a thorough perusal of the area where the dogs take care of their business and picking up and disposing of the waste properly.

“The dog does the first part,” she said with a laugh, “and we do the second part.”

It may sound like an unusual career choice, but for Kuhn, it’s a dream job. After reading “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” a book advocating financial independence and business ownership, she decided to start her own business. “I knew I wanted the business to be dog-related,” she said, “because I’ve been a dog owner and a dog lover all my life.”

In July of 2005, a radio call-in show helped Kuhn to further pinpoint the direction her business should take. It was the middle of a heat wave, she recalled, and the hosts wanted to hear from people who had the worst jobs to be doing in that kind of heat. “A man called in and said, ‘I’m a professional pooper scooper.’”

It was a eureka moment for Kuhn. “That’s the idea I’ve been looking for,” she remembered thinking. “That’s what my business is going to be.”

Though she’s aware of the irony of choosing the nature of her business based on the complaints of a fellow entrepreneur, Kuhn, who has four dogs herself, has never found the task irksome.

“That something that’s never bothered me,” she said, jokingly comparing cleaning up dog waste to an Easter egg hunt.

And Kuhn is no ordinary scooper. Before registering her business in January of 2006, she was an environmental engineer focusing mainly on wastewater. “I’m basically in the same field,” she said, “just a little sideways shift.”

According to Kuhn, the greatest environmental challenge posed by dog waste is due to storm water runoff. If waste isn’t picked up regularly and is instead washed away or otherwise erroded by rain and snow, she explained, it can contaminate the surface water.

Irregular disposal of dog waste can also affect human health, since most dogs come into the home and share floors and furniture with the rest of the family.

Kuhn’s business helps “alleviate the incidence of bringing diseases into the home,” she said. “It’s just better for the environment and healthier for your dog to pick up the waste regularly, and for your family.”

According to Kuhn, owners often take a more relaxed approach to cleaning up after their dogs in the winter since they aren’t using their yards as much. Although she also offers winter services, it’s no surprise that her busiest time of year is “after the snow melts.”

She has many customers who request a one-time clean-up and many who call her for an annual spring cleaning, choosing to maintain their lawns independently after that first hurdle is out of the way.

Of these customers, many choose to become regulars after seeing Kuhn’s clean-up rates. “Some people might think it’s a luxury, but it’s more of a convenience,” she said. “And then they look at the prices and say, ‘Wow, I thought it was going to be a lot more than that.’ ”

One of Kuhn’s regular customers is Patty Naimo, who lives in Manchester and works locally. She became a weekly customer after requesting a one-time clean-up in 2009. “Poop, Scoop & Away does an excellent job keeping our lawns clean and safe for people and dogs to play on,” she said.

Her dog, a Belgian Tervuren named Vinnie, seems to appreciate the service, as well. “Vinnie is outside on the back porch during the nice weather and always greets Annette when she comes to clean up. You can tell she loves dogs,” Naimo said.

“I love seeing the four-legged customers,” Kuhn said. “That’s the best part of the day, playing with them for a few seconds while I’m scooping.”

Kuhn aims to please both the dogs and their owners with her services, and so far, it looks like she’s succeeding.

“They are always available to answer any questions I might have or to work around my schedule,” Naimo said, when asked what she likes best about the company. “If you ask my dog what he likes the most, it’s the cookie they leave for him each week.”

Teresa Santoski can be reached at 594-6466 or tsantoski@nashuatelegraph.com.