Taken from the August 7, 1999 issue of the Plano Star Courier, by Staff Writer, Daniel Kerr.
It's a dirty job...Owners of Commander Doodie hope to turn land mines into gold. And you thought your job was tough...To Roxanne Fuentes, a day at the office means a day searching for land mines - doggy land mines, that is. As co-owner of Commander Doodie, Plano's first dog waste management service, Fuentes has found that canine excrement is as good as gold. "We've had people laugh at us, saying, 'Oh, you're picking up poop.' I say those are gold mines to us," said Fuentes, who owns the unique cleaning service with her husband, Russell.
Funny yes, but this is no joke. Finding and disposing of processed leftovers is an international business. From Argentina to Australia, scooper service companies are popping up around the world. But they are most prevalent in the United States, with dog-waste cleaning outfits located in at least 40 states.
And the couple is passionate about the concept, which they first saw featured on TV. Their new business is bonded and insured. To date, the Fuenteses, who have researched the concept for about six months, have about $2,500 invested, a nominal overhead compared to most start-up businesses. Most of that went for insurance and advertising. "At some point I see us having a fleet of vehicles going out as far as Frisco, Allen and McKinney," Roxanne Fuentes envisioned. "Wherever there are dogs, we'd like to be."
Fuentes has a tried-and-true method for eliminating the smelly by-product of canine companionship, one learned from many years of owning and sitting pets. "I've been a freelance pet sitter for two years. The (dog-waste management) business is a natural step from pet sitting," she said, adding it usually takes about 15 minutes of work to make a yard safe for bare feet.
With reasonable rates, they are targeting a broad market, not just the affluent. "We are not specifically targeting any one income range," Russell Fuentes explained. "We feel like this is a service for anyone with dogs." Eventually, the Fuenteses would like to service apartment complexes, city parks, town homes and kennels. But right now they are focusing on developing a residential customer base - and they want to satisfy those customers. The Fuenteses are banking on word of mouth; under their referral program, customers receive one free cleaning for each referral they make.
One might think there exists synergistic opportunities in the way of dog-poo fertilizer, but Sally Sutton of Rohde's Nursery in Garland, a greenhouse specializing in organic gardening, isn't so sure. "It all depends on who you talk to," she said. "I wouldn't use it, but there are some gardeners who do." Sutton said worms particularly those of the nematode variety, could be an unwanted byproduct of using Fido's calling cards as vegetable food. "You have to be careful there are no parasites inside the dogs," she explained, adding if dog waste is combined with compost, the heat generated from decay is supposed to kill the parasites. The sheer thought of parasitic worms is probably enough to garner more than enough business for Commander Doodie. At least that's what the Fuenteses hope.
When your company's name is Commander Doodie, it doesn't leave much to the imagination. And that's how Roxanne Fuentes, the company's founder and chief executive poop scooper, likes it. Ms. Fuentes travels to North Dallas, Carrollton, Lewisville, Frisco, Allen and Plano, Richardson and Collin County to scoop dog poop...for as little as $7 a week. And while other companies offer the service, few have chosen a name that is so, well, unforgettable. Although Turd Busters in Denver comes close. "We considered Rover's Leftovers, but when we came up with Commander Doodie, it stuck. Our uniforms are military-type, too," Ms. Fuentes says.