According to recent statistics, over 50% of U.S. households have at least one dog. Most pet owners consider them part of the family and are willing to provide them with the best care possible.
One responsibility no one likes, though, is picking up after the dog, especially in their backyards. Parents are often busy, and kids don’t want to go near it. Sonja Tengdin knows this well. When her children were young, it was a challenge to get them to do the job, even though the dogs were technically theirs.
Already a businesswoman working in the financial industry, she had what she calls a “lightbulb” moment. If this was something her family was struggling with, she knew many others were as well.
In 2002, she launched Scoopy Poo, DoggyDoo PickUp in Edina, and now, almost 25 years later, she has 500 to 600 customers and is the self-acclaimed Grand Poo Paw. “Scooping poo is not necessarily a funny subject, but we make it funny,” she says. “We're not serious about it on the front end with the clients, but we're very serious about it in the office.”
While other similar companies have come and gone, Sonja used her business skills to establish a successful long-term company. “This business was started with research and a business plan, and we have the complete package of knowing how to handle bookkeeping, marketing and everything else that comes along with running a successful business.”
It also took hard work and perseverance. “Minnesotans are people who do it on their own,” says Sonja. “They feel that you shouldn’t have a dog unless you're willing to scoop the poop.”
Instead of giving up, she changed her focus to senior citizens, who found it much harder to keep up after their dogs, especially during the winter. “We offer a senior discount because I think having a dog is more important than having to go out and scoop the poop.”
The next focus was on families with children. “They're out on Saturday mornings playing sports and doing other things. Or maybe they just had a baby, but their dogs are still very important parts of their lives.”
While some people may view this service as a luxury, others consider it a need. And at less than $20 a week, it’s not a luxury item. It actually adds up to less than that daily fancy drink from a coffee shop.
“They absolutely can't live without us, because they can now plan their time otherwise,” she says. “It's something they don't need to ever worry about.”
When a scooper is done, he or she always leaves a bag that says, "You've been scooped." This bag contains a tootsie roll for the pet parent and a treat for the dog, and even a cute poo haiku. Poo haiku # 26 – “Our life here is short. A lesson, small grasshopper. Let others scoop poo.” She and her staff used to make them all up, but now customers are also sending in their own.
Scoopy Poo has continued to evolve over the years, and Sonja and her team keep adapting to the ever-changing needs of the community. “Beginning around 2013, we started getting calls to handle apartment buildings,” she says. “They had people walking their dogs and not picking up, so we would go do both a spring cleanup and a fall cleanup.”
Over the years, more and more apartment buildings started allowing dogs, and bins and bags stations were installed. “They thought their maintenance people could handle it, but they didn’t want to handle it. So now we do a lot of bins.” Even with the bins, some people don’t use them, so Scoopy Poo does the cleanup around these properties.
One of the things Sonja cherishes the most about being in business for so long is the relationships she’s established over the years with customers, some of whom have been with her almost since the beginning. “I believe it’s because of how we treat them and their dogs, and they know they can rely on us for the long term,” she says.
Sonja and her scoopers truly care about the pet parents and their dogs. “I have scoopers coming back all the time and saying, ‘Oh, I got to play with so-and-so.’”
Protocol Officer Ragnar, a golden retriever who’s now a senior citizen at 11 1/2, and Chief Pooper, Rolo, a 10-year-old Bernese Mountain Dog, also help keep things running smoothly. “We just love dogs here,” says Sonja.
ScoopyPoo.net