SANTA CLARITA, Calif., Jan. 2, 2008 — Pooper scoopers will be scooping up their luggage instead of doggy doo. The 5th annual meeting of the Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists (aPaws) will be held January 25-27, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia. aPaws is inviting professional pooper scoopers from across the country to come to the sessions where they can learn different aspects of the pooper scooper business and gain professional support. Among the activities planned is the Turd Herding Contest where pooper scoopers face off to see who the fastest scooper in the country is. An activity with a light-hearted name has a serious purpose as professional pooper scoopers monitor the health of the animals for whom they scoop by observing their poop. The convention always wraps up with a charity auction to benefit a dog-related organization. This year's auction is to help raise money to purchase pet oxygen masks to help Firefighters and EMS Personnel. Some departments rely solely on donations, because the funds are just not available.
Pet owners across the country have a responsibility to their pets and to their families to prevent disease that pet waste can transmit. Many localities have ordinances requiring pet owners to scoop the pet's yard, in addition to scooping public areas when the pet is out of the yard. The American Pet Association estimates that there are more than 71 million pet dogs in the United States, producing over 4.4 billion pounds of waste every year, which is enough to cover 900 football fields with 12 inches of dog waste. Talk about deep doo doo!
Professional poop scooping is a growing industry, and the Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists is a professional trade organization that provides listings of professional pooper scoopers in the United States and Canada in the Find-A-Scooper National Directory on its Website, http://www.apaws.org. aPaws members agree to follow a Code of Ethics that include to not mistreat animals; report any mistreatment of animals that they observe; disinfect all tools after every yard to protect the health of the animals they serve; and carry liability insurance.
Contact:
Timothy Stone at (800) PUP-POOP (800 787-7667) or Deb Levy at (314) 770-1500