Folks can’t ‘doo’ without his service
I’ve known border patrollers and police patrollers, but before meeting Jay Boucher, I’d never heard of “Dookie Patrol.” The 35-year-old transplant from Bend, Ore., is passionate about his part-time work keeping yards clean of, well, “dookie.”
Previous work in direct sales helped prepare him to market the groundbreaking, no, make that ground-cleaning service in Coeur d’Alene. For a modest fee, Boucher scoops dog waste from yards and transports the mess to the city landfill.
Not only does poop-scooping make a yard esthetically more pleasant, it also helps prevent diseases and the spread of bacteria and protozoa. Improper control of dog excrement can be a public health issue, especially when it ends up in storm sewers, then travels into community drinking water. This can be a big problem, according to Mount Vernon, Maine, scientist Will Brinton, who claims dogs and cats in America produce 10 millions tons of waste a year.
Boucher is researching methods to compost the waste rather than contribute to the landfill pile. He likes the “poop power” concept in San Francisco, which proposes turning the city’s animal feces (it makes up nearly 4 percent of San Francisco’s residential waste, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle) into methane gas to be used for heating, cooking and generating electricity. Although realizing North Idaho is not ready for a massive poop project like San Francisco’s, Boucher is doing his part to help the environment in our community, one scoop at a time.
What is your job title? “Shovel operator and owner.”
How long have you been doing this? “I started the business in March 2006.”
How did you choose this line of work? “When I Iooked at my yard after the first thaw of the year, I was horrified at how much dookie could come out of one dog. As I was doing my duty, cleaning up after my mutt (I love her dearly), I said to myself, ‘I would definitely pay someone to do this for me.’ That’s when it dawned on me. How much would I pay someone to do this for me? If it were less than $10 a week, hmmm, I’d pay that. So I did some research on the dookie disposal business and found that it is not an uncommon business in other cities. I decided to give it a shot here in Coeur d’Alene to see what kind of response I would get. Better than I had expected. I guess I wasn’t the only one horrified after the thaw.”
Are you paid: (a) well; (b) more than you are worth; (c) slave wages, (d) could be better? I’m paid what I’m asking for, so I get paid well. It could always be better, though.”
What is the best thing about your job? “I love dogs and I make dogs happy. Because of me, they have a clean yard in which to do their business. Dookie Patrol is one of the best things an owner can do for their dog. I know dog owners (myself for one), who can spend easily 50 bucks a month on toys and other things for their dog. I bet if you asked the dog what he/she wanted – a new toy or a clean yard, the would say … both!”
What is the worst thing about your job? “The business is still new, and I can’t do Dookie Patrol full time yet. I have to split my time between working at the fly-fishing shop and running the biz. I hope by next year I will have a well-established customer base so that I can do Dookie Patrol full time”
Do you plan on doing this job (a) until retirement; (b) until something better comes along? “I don’t know if I can retire picking up dookie, but if the stars align just right, you never know.”
Do you have any on-the-job funny stories? ” My biggest skeptic became my first customer. When I first started this business, you can just imagine how much razzing I got from my friends ‘You are gonna do what?’ ‘Boucher, you are crazy.’ ‘I can pick up my own dog ‘stuff’. ‘ This last comment came from my boss at the fly shop. When the thaw came and he saw his yard, he said all he wanted for me to do is the first cleaning of the year for $25. So I did. Two weeks later, he comes back to me and asks how much for me to come out weekly. I told him $9 and he couldn’t believe that was all it cost. He is now my biggest supporter and states that he will never pick up dog dookie again. He can’t ‘doo’ without me.”
Any bad experiences? “It does get a little stinky in the heat of the day. I try and do my job early in the morning.”
If there was a movie made about you and your job, what actor should play you and why? “John Cusack – he is my favorite actor. He has both serious and funny sides, and he was great in ‘Better off Dead.’ “