A few minutes with: A disposer of doggy-doo

April 19, 2004

BY JIM SCHAEFER
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Cheryll Wezner of Brownstown Township has a small business, and she used to be sheepish about it.

She hesitated to tell other relatives what she, her husband and 19-year-old son were doing.

But then it caught on, and now Wezner, 41, has 75 customers who pay about $11 a pop when her team visits their homes.

Now she boasts that K-9 Kleanup is a growing business trend that may one day be as pervasive as lawn services.

QUESTION: So, you're a professional pooper-scooper. Who are your clients?

ANSWER: "We have handicapped customers that can't do it, elderly people that can't. . . . A lot of people that we have, both of them are working . . . the kids are playing in the yard."

Q: You're growing, and you're hoping to expand?

A: "That is our goal. Probably the first person to go full-time will be the son."

Q: Lucky guy.

A: "Yeah. He wants to inherit the business. . . . He's like, 'This is going to be all mine.' "

Q: How does weather affect the job?

A: "There is nothing worse than rain and it starts to disintegrate a little bit. It's like trying to pick up pancake batter with a fork."

Q: And you work even in winter?

A: "They're like little hockey pucks. Getting out in the weather isn't always fun, but scooping-wise, there's no better time."

Q: What's the best way to get doggy doo-doo off your shoes?

A: "A little stick helps to get it out of the grooves. There was a day I was with my husband and he kept saying, 'One of us has it on our shoes.' . . . But now, I had managed to rub it on my coat. We pull over . . . he's got the disinfectant, cleaning me off."

Q: Romantic.

A: "Isn't it? You just have to be able to take it all in stride."

Q: What's been your worst job?

A: "There was a yard we did where the three of us truly wanted to cry. . . . It was so bad that all we could do was rake it. . . . Poundage? That had to have been close to 100 pounds."

Q: Nowthat's quality family time.

A: "It gives us something to talk about. A family goal. To keep the business going."

Q: What kind of beast dropped those bombs?

A: "She had three dogs. All three of them were mixed . . . German Shepherd-Golden Retriever-type."

Q: What's the worst dog?

A: "I wouldn't say it's a certain breed. . . . But we can definitely tell who's giving Fido a lot of Taco Bell."

Q: Maybe you should expand to horses.

A: "No."

Owners: Brownstown Township residents Curtis and Cheryll Wezner

What: A dog-waste cleanup company. Will come to your home for a weekly fee and clean up what the dog has done in your back yard.