Some try to make the chore slightly less humiliating by equipping themselves with snazzy shovels and other sophisticated devices. But these accessories don’t make the task any less unpleasant.
Fortunately, there are companies that come to the rescue of reluctant dog owners, offering to pick up their pooch’s poop for them.
There are 550 such companies in the United States, particularly on the outskirts of major cities, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
And that’s hardly surprising, considering how much Americans love dogs. Some 45% of the country’s households owned at least one in 2020, according to the 2022 edition of the “Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook” report from the American Veterinary Medical Association.
To take care of their little companion, some owners are ready to spend whatever it takes. From medical services, to food, clothing and high-tech accessories, spending on dogs has jumped by 10.8% between 2021 and 2022, according to data from the American Pet Products Association.
The thriving health of the pet market is driving more and more start-ups into the sector, offering a multitude of services to more affluent pet owners.
One such service is dog poop scooping, billed at between US$20 and US$30 a week by most companies in this niche sector, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. And wealthy owners are only too happy to pay this not insignificant sum to spare themselves this chore.
A boom in services
Picking up after your dog can be as gross as it can be annoying. It can even become a source of conflict within couples of dog “co-parents.”
“One [customer] told us we saved her marriage,” Tracy Clevens, co-owner of Clevens K-9 Scoop, a Wilmington, Delaware-based dog poop removal company, told the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Other owners pay for this service because their health (or advanced age) no longer allows them to bend down to pick up their dog’s droppings, or simply to save time in their daily lives.
Although this micro-market only caters for a small handful of owners, it’s still growing.
According to Tim Stone, who runs Scoop Masters and is president of the National Association of Professional Pet Waste Specialists (aPAWS), it generates close to US$500 million annually in the US. This figure is certain to rise over the next few years, boosted by an increasingly luxury-oriented demand.
From dog walkers to dog sitters and dog masseurs, people’s love for dogs has led to the emergence of a whole host of services designed to pamper these pets.
There are now summer camps, hotels, spas, cafés and even restaurants dedicated especially to dogs. Proof, if proof were needed, that dogs are a growing focus for budding entrepreneurs.