"Yes, it is dirty work, but most people just don't want to do it themselves," said the co-owner of Dirty Work®, a dog waste removal service.

Using $2,000 in personal savings, Cara and partner Erin E. opened the Buckhead-based company in July 1998 and now service yards in 15 counties throughout metro Atlanta.

The two grew tired of being officebound and began looking around for a business that would combine their love of animals, helping the community and the outdoors. While scooping doggie doo wouldn't be everyone's choice, the partners have turned it into a successful enterprise.

Cara and Erin have more than 80 regular customers on their client list, which includes residential as well as such commercial clients as apartment and townhouse complexes. The average weekly cost is $12 for one visit a week to clean a property.

One of their customers is Morningside resident Tom Cook and his wife, who have two dogs, a fenced back yard and little time. "When we do get some time off, we like to get out and play with the dogs, but we don't want to have to scoop every time we do," Cook said. "And besides, I've seen them out playing with the dogs when they visit. That's cute."

Dirty Work® usually visits a home once or twice a week. Using plastic-bag-covered scoopers and wearing high-topped boots and chemical-resistant gloves, they clean the yard, then double-bags the residue, spray it, gloves and boots with a disinfectant that kills the parvo virus.  At the end of the day, scoopers deposit the waste into a commercial Dumpster that a waste contractor picks up weekly for disposal.

"Spraying with the disinfectant is necessary so we don't take disease from one yard to another," Cara explained. Scooping also reduces the chance of polluting ground water. "If you don't remove the waste, when it rains, it runs off into streams and sewers," she said.

Cara and Erin market the business with a Web site at www.dirtywork.net, newspaper advertising, direct mailings and by word of mouth from satisfied customers who get $25 for each referral. They also offer two week's of free scooping to anyone who adopts a dog from The Humane Society or a local animal shelter. "We believe so much in adoptions that we like to promote them," Cara said. "It's just a gift that we give back."

ILLUSTRATIONS/PHOTOS: Something in a name: Cara's business name says it all as she works at a job in Midtown.  NICK ARROYO / Staff
Mixing work and play: Co-owner Cara takes time from scoop work to toss a ball for Maddie at a home in Midtown. Her customers are scattered across 15 counties of metro Atlanta. / NICK ARROYO / Staff
STUFF HAPPENS
Dirty Work can be reached at 404-876-9333 or visit the Web site at www.DirtyWork.net