DOO-TY CALLS: Your Dog's 'Business' is Their 'Business'

By Carolyn S. Peterson

From the moment your precious pup enters your home, you are trying to encourage his exit when he needs to do his ’business.’ After a few puddles and ’presents,’ always on the oriental rug, never on the hard wood floor, he takes his ’business’ to the yard. If this part of dog ownership gets you down, Jim Ingram of ’Doo-ty Calls’ can scoop the poop from your yard, ’cause your dog’s ’business’ is Jim’s ’business.’ For Jim Ingram, owner and operator of Doo-ty Calls, K-9 Waste Removal Service, the tools of his trade are few, but the rewards for homeowners are many, “My truck has a rake, a long handled dust pan, and a 10- gallon bucket with a lemony fresh trash liner. I like being my own boss.”

When Ingram gets down to ’business,’ he can clean a large yard in about 30 minutes. Some dog owners absolutely despise this part of dog ownership, but for Ingram, he doesn’t mind his chosen field. “I clean up at my house for my eight family dogs and usually ten foster dogs, that we take care of until suitable homes are found, and then move my cleaning on to other people’s yards,” stated Ingram. Ingram began his business in 1999, after seeing a company offering a similar service on TV. Through the encouragement of his wife, Leslie, he opened Doo-ty Calls. “I offer residential and commercial service. Anyone who has a dog, residential or commercial, but doesn’t enjoy this particular aspect of being a dog lover, is a prospective client,” commented Ingram. With new customers calling, Ingram keeps mum on the subject of the number of customers he has, but as he said, “I’m always picking up business.”

With a service area including Forsyth County and surrounding areas, Ingram offers weekly, bi-monthly, monthly and 1 time service. The cost is $11 for the first dog and $4 of each additional dog. As Ingram said, “A clean yard helps prevent disease and is more pleasant for the human and dog inhabitants.” Weather permitting, Ingram is on the job every day with the exception of Christmas and New Year’s Day. During his off hours at the holiday season, Ingram is a Santa Claus stand-in when the Jolly Old Elf needs help getting around to local pet stores. And when the opportunity presents itself, he may even step in for the Easter Bunny at local events (but that’s a secret). When Ingram’s not out in a yard somewhere, or playing a holiday character, he and his wife help with dachshund and dachshund mix rescues through their involvement with Almost Home Dachshund Rescue Society. The next time you and your family members have to flip a coin to see who gets to do the ’doo-ty calls’ in your backyard, pick up the phone and call Jim Ingram at Doo-ty Calls and let him pick up your ’business’ and your dog’s ’business.’

To contact Doo-ty Calls, call Jim Ingram at 591-3018. Free estimates are available. Call for service area questions and visit www.dootycalls.com. Information and links to dachshund rescue are also on the web site.