See Page 2 KSL Story

Salt Lake Tribune April 22, 2005

It's a dirty job . . .
. . . but Dr. Scoopy Poo is happy to clean lawns of pet waste for his loyal clientele

Sandy Day has been using Dr. Scoopy Poo for the past six months, and she can't say enough good things about him.
In fact, the Sandy resident says, she worships the ground he (carefully) walks upon.
Day developed back problems last year and grew tired of cleaning up after her two 90-pound Labrador retrievers, Bow and Arrow.
Dr. Scoopy Poo to the rescue.
The pet waste removal service has been coming to her house every Friday ever since to do Day's dirty work.
"I'm grateful, I love them and they do a great job," she said.
Dr. Scoopy Poo's real name is Tom Barry, by day a history, geography and science teacher at the Salt Lake Valley Detention Center, by night - let's face it, the name says it all.
"After school and on weekends, I scoop poop," Barry said. "It's a stress relief for me. I really enjoy going to people's houses and talking to different customers and finding out about the people in the valley."
Dr. Scoopy Poo was born a year ago when Barry was looking for a business that would allow him to be outdoors without too much of an investment or too much stress. He searched the Internet and found that communities in California and North Carolina had pet waste removal services. He figured he could do the same thing, only cheaper.
Where do you get a Ph.D. in poop scooping? You don't. It's just a name and Barry is no more a doctor than his brother, Dr. Video, who runs a home video business in North Carolina.
Scooping actually came naturally to Barry.
"I've been picking up poop since I was 4 years old," he said. "Growing up in Minnesota. I always had two or three dogs. With me, it's nothing out of the ordinary."

 

 

Dr. Scoopy Poo now services 62 customers a week and Barry has hired his father-in-law Tom Meunier, a retired dam builder, to help him out. The good doctor charges $7 per week for one dog or $10 per week for two dogs. At that price, he scoops once a week.
Barry lives in Sandy with his wife and three kids and, for the most part, they think the business is funny."My 5-year-old daughter Erin really doesn't like to travel in my truck," he said. "She calls it the 'poopytruck.' "
Barry uses his Ford Ranger to transport the waste to a local landfill and uses pooper-scoopers, which are disinfected with chlorine bleach between each job.
It takes Barry around an hour to perform the initial cleanup of a client's yard, but he says after that the average yard can be cleaned pretty fast.
"I'm highly specialized and trained now," Barry joked.
Barry's company is steadily growing and even though he has taken on some commercial clients, residential jobs still make up the bulk of his jobs.
Sharon Rasmussen called Dr. Scoopy Poo three months ago after she picked up a flier at the Cottonwood Animal Hospital. She had just moved in to a new house in Draper with her husband, two kids and her yellow Labrador Retriever, McKay.
"His service is awesome," she said. "He came immediately when I called him, when we had barely moved in to our house. It really needed help."
Dr. Scoopy Poo comes to her house every Friday afternoon and Rasmussen says she likes that she doesn't have to worry if her dog is in the backyard when they come because they are so professional.
"I have already referred him to a girlfriend of mine with two dogs in Sandy," Rasmussen said.
Day has referred people to Dr. Scoopy Poo as well.
"I have recommended them to other friends who have big dogs," said Day. "You have to feed them that much so you have to clean up after them that much."
Barry said that he is having fun doing his job and he looks forward to expanding it, one yard at a time.

© Copyright 2005, The Salt Lake Tribune

 

 

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