Forget the dog, beware of owner!

I just can't sit back and let this go by.

On Wednesday, April 20th someone decided to post an ad on Kijiji completely slamming our company, our service rep and our owner, Roland Pearson.

I feel the need to defend ourselves and I’m going to choose to do it here on my blog. I hate to make this public and I’ll apologize upfront when I start getting personal. Because I will…

The ad posted on Kijiji, April 20, 2011 is as follows:

"i just caught an employee of poooh busters going through my mail box not just placing somthing in but rummaging through

apparently this is ok with poooh busters because the owner roland hung up several times when confronted on this issue. he then called my sister and harrased her that he would sue if i posted about this lol here you go Roland Pearson fill your boots thief...

take this for what it is worth... but i cannot recomend Poooh busters

403-462-4351 Roland Pearson @ poooh busters

http://www.pooohbusters.com/guarantee.htm

how about you guarantee me your employees are bonded

a guaranteed piece of SH$# is still a piece of #@&*

Edit thank you for all your replies. yes pooh busters was hired to do two family yards, all accounts are prepaid address is clear and there was no reason to be in mailbox. yes we have contacted police and canada post.

April 21, 2011…yesterdays post got 96 hits and i received many emails of support . You are right we do need posts like this to warn others of shady practices, word of mouth good or bad will have a great impact on people like these..."

As you can see the post was very well written *insert sarcasm here*. Additionally, I have to say the view of this incident from the author’s point of view is completely twisted, much like the author himself.

Our side of the story:

Our long time, faithful and hard working service representative, Shaun visited a brand new client's yard for the first time. She happens to be the mother of another client of ours. She liked the idea of Poooh Busters coming to clean her daughter’s yard so much; she decided to hire us as well for her own yard. You see she has a 30-something, lazy son living a glorious life filled with X-Box and Chitos dwelling in her basement. He seems to think that owning his own dog and living with his mother negates his responsibility to clean up after his own dog. Because his mother doesn’t want to clean up her son’s dog’s crap herself, she’s hired us to do it for him. Unfortunately for her, she’s paying for it. Surprise, surprise…

Shaun arrived at this house for the very first visit, dropped our door hanger in the mailbox and started to follow his normal routine of cleaning the yard. Inside the house Shaun could hear the family dog going crazy because like most dogs we encounter every day, it didn’t like seeing a stranger roaming around its backyard territory. Funny thing is, dogs don’t know any better, and humans do. Most sane people would ask why this person is in the yard. Not this guy.

I assume he was immediately put into a bad mood because with his dog going crazy he was forced to hit the pause button on his very important game to see what the commotion was all about (I have to wonder as a side note, why wasn’t this dude at work?). He had emerged from the basement ready for a confrontation with Shaun. He was immediately very angry and threatening and even threatened to release his dog on Shaun.

Of course Shaun decided this was a good time to leave the backyard and went out the gate to the front. Shaun decided it might be best to check his door hanger card to see if he was maybe at the wrong address. Why was this guy so upset? Shaun went to the client's mailbox to pull out the door hanger card in hopes of confirming he had the correct address. I guess this is where we are accused of “rummaging” through our client’s mailbox.

After it was over and Shaun left, the angry son must have immediately hopped onto our website and grabbed some information off of it, including Roland’s contact information. He called Roland and began yelling and screaming at him, threatening and belittling Roland and our staff. Roland as most people would do hung up on him as it was not a productive conversation. Not to mention he wasn’t even our client, his mother hired us. This maniac barraged Roland’s phone with at least 10 more calls, leaving messages that would make a sailor blush.

Roland could not get a hold of our client so he went to the next person on the file, her daughter, our other client. Roland wondered if there was anything she could to do help us with the situation that was started by her brother. This is where we are accused of “harassing” her. Note: I can spell the word harassed.

We eventually did get a hold of our client and let her know what had happened. We have yet to come to some sort of resolve on the issue and when we do I’ll be sure to place an update to this blog.

It may be unprofessional of me to post this to our public via my blog but we are a hard working, family owned company. I especially work very hard at creating the image of a fun, family-oriented culture for Poooh Busters, so I am taking this attack somewhat personally.

I mean come on, we pick up dog crap for a living, there shouldn’t be this much drama in what we do. Please accept my apologies for the rant but I wanted to make sure our side of the story was heard. We have made mistakes in the past and hope we did our best to correct them. If we were wrong in this case, we'd sit and take our lumps.

We were just doing what we were hired to do. Unfortunately for Shaun, he just happened to come across a gap-toothed, basement dwelling troll who got mad because he actually had to get out of bed before noon.

A Positive Message

As many of us experience on Facebook, we inevitably find people we've lost touch with over the years. In one case I stumbled across Allison, someone I dated for a few years back in the early 90's. We eventually parted ways.

Some 15 years later Facebook comes along and reunites us in a virtual world. She is happily married and living in Iowa. Back when we dated, I had the pleasure of meeting and getting to know her Moms. They were a couple of quirky, happy-go-lucky ladies who travelled the country in their huge RV, and every now and then they would blow into town and stay with us for a few days. One of the things I remember fondly about these wonderful ladies was their love for all animals, particularly dogs. They used to always travel with their dog Jessie, a medium sized mix breed who looked a little like a German Sheppard. I recall Jessie was an incredibly friendly and well-behaved dog. Not knowing much about dogs back then, I did know that this dog was an above average, good and loyal dog with a huge heart...much like their guardians. Jessie has since passed on but the Moms always found room in their hearts and family to care for more dogs since.

Allison recently posted a note about her Moms and their latest experience with another one of their lovable pooches. I was at first saddened to read this story but I soon found it was written with a sanguine message despite the tragedy. With the unfortunate events that sometimes fall upon us as pet parents, it's nice to see that we can take those same events and turn them into something positive.

This is Allison’s note:

“To begin, my moms are the Mother Theresas of the pet kingdom - they have always had multitudes of cats and dogs that have been discarded or mistreated by the masses. The day before yesterday my mom was doing her usual park excursion with their current two pups. During that walk, their eldest dog, Emma, was accosted by a couple young brutish canines. The large alphas were muzzled, which my mother was most thankful for, but the excitement was still too much for Emma to handle. By the time they returned to the van, Emma was in great distress and went into horrific convulsions, biting and swollowing her tongue and suffered a heart attack. My wee little mom (4'10"-71 yrs) had to wrestle this extremely large animal, who had just died before her, into her van. Her other dog, Camilla, watching on in bug-eyed horror. She did it--she always gets done what needs to be done. When she arrived home, shaking still, she popped on Skype to tell me the sad news.

So what is the moral or point of this story? There is no one to hate or be angry with. No injustice to scream about. There is no other outcome to wish for. (Secretly, I will always carry the wish for all living creatures to pass miraculously in their sleep.) She is sad, she is rattled (a diet-breaking vodka was in order), but she is thankful. Emma had become so old and so crippled. She was suffering with the pain of her age -- and in a quick, unexpected moment it was over. Emma is at rest. My moms were saved the heartwrenching decision lurking in the near future to have her put to sleep and out of her daily misery. Those big dogs that made a fuss and went after her--they did not intend to cause her to die. It just happened that way. Life. Life takes over.

But my moms--it is terribly cliche but they are my heroes. Little old ladies kicking life's ass and taking names. Tough as nails. Not falling to pieces when a crisis rears it's head. And yet so giving, such open and welcoming hearts. Emma was alive still because of them. She, and countless wonderful animals before her, had long, well-fed, warm and happy lives because of them. And for as long as they live, any animal in need or distress that crosses their path will get nothing less. Love. Love takes over.”

Allison tells me Emma has been placed in a special place in the country to rest beside her past siblings including our beloved Jessie. Thank you for sharing this story Allison.

Western Canada Weight Pulling

It’s been a while since I last blogged. This is definitely a crazy time of year for Poooh Busters, the snow melts uncovering layer upon layer of that dreaded doggie doo. People call us desperate for help and want us to come immediately and we try our best to accommodate!

On top of our crazy season we try to fit in a bunch of other things as well. One of the biggies coming up for us is the Calgary Pet Expo. We are attending with our booth next weekend on March 26th and 27th. We can’t wait and are very excited as always to be part of such a great event. Please be sure to come down and look around. If you bring a donation for the Calgary Humane Society, you’ll get $2.00 off your admission!

The other thing we worked hard to fit in between initial cleans was to attend the Western Canada Weight Pulling event that took place on March 12th and 13th. Poooh Busters sponsored the final event. We also sponsored one of the awards that were given to the top weight pulling dogs. Sleep Rover Doggie Hotel & Daycare sponsored the other one.

This was an incredible and unique experience to say the least. Being a part of the pet industry, we get exposed to a lot of different activities and events for pets but this was certainly one of the coolest ones I’ve seen!

Basically, dogs are fixed to a pulling harness and compete to pull the most weight in the quickest time. Let me tell you, these dogs LOVE their job! They work hard to pull that cart of cement blocks across the finish line and are begging to do it again.

The event we attended was the final one of the season and the top dogs were there competing to be the best. The Poooh Busters team, including Mrs. Big Nate were there cheering on the dogs.

It’s a little known sport and the attendance for each event is up and down. It’s too bad, because I can see this being a really fun and exciting competition for competitors and spectators alike.

To help bring about more awareness, Poooh Busters will be working with organizer, Sean Hammell again for next year’s pulling season. We really hope to help him grow the audience and participation in the future so the dogs who are working hard and competing get the applause and cheers they deserve!

If you want more information on this dog weight pulling sport in Canada, be sure to visit the International Weight Pulling Association (IWPA) website. This is the organization that Sean Hammell’s events are registered through. They have the events listed, the results for the season and the champions. There is some really great stuff to check out.

Calgary PetExpo is

offering CKC Canine Good Neighbour Testing!

The Canine Good Neighbour (CGN) training program embraces both purebred and mixed-breed dogs and is fun, rewarding, and useful. It encourages owners to have a better and richer relationship with their dogs. The program also enhances community awareness of responsible dog ownership and the numerous benefits associated with dog ownership.

To become Canine Good Neighbour Certified you and your dog must demonstrate confidence and control and pass a series of 12 Tests. A registered CGN evaluator will assess and pass or fail your performance.

HOW TO GET YOUR DOG CERTIFIED & TESTED:

The PetExpo is excited to offer 45 Open Test Times during the Show.
A lottery will be held from all e-submissions to fill the available times.
Requests for testing will be accepted until March 15th.
Selected Teams will be notifed immediately.

To Enter - Email pets@canwestshows.com

Be sure to include:

• Your name
• Your Dogs name
• Your Contact information (email & phone number)

All tests will be held at the Show either Saturday, March 26th or Sunday, March 27th.

If you and your dog are selected you will be notified via email and assigned a scheduled time for your CGN Test. All Teams selected will be provided with Free Admission into the Show.

There is a $20 Fee to participate in the CGN Test that is payable at registration.

For more information on Special Requirements - please click on the below:

Going Green Without Even Knowing It!

With my interest in technology (Apple products specifically), I realized that not only is it fun to have an iPhone, iPad and an iMac, it’s also environmentally more friendly.

We here at Poooh Busters are not only champions of responsible pet guardianship and for supporting Calgary local businesses, we believe in being environmentally responsible.

So I was happy to read an article about how using technology today is helping our environment. This example involves some of my favourite things; books and music. The following is an article from a great “green” website called One Simple Act.

Green Books and Music
Have you ever wondered what the future of the newspaper and books will be in this electronic age? Technology has changed the way we read the written word. There is a plethora of gadgets to make our lives faster and easier and maybe a bit greener. You can read books on computers, electronic tablets, digital readers or e-books, and even some cell phones. And we can listen to music on MP3 players and computers.

Whether you choose a real book or a digital book, they both have an environmental impact. Which is greener? It depends on the number of books you read and the various uses you can get from one electronic gadget.

Each option’s environmental impact is concentrated in a different place. The biggest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the book industry is from paper production, accounting for almost 70 per cent of the industry’s emissions. For digital readers, the most carbon-intensive step is production of the device itself. The greatest impact of reading online is the energy that it takes to power the computer while reading or listening to music.

Despite the initial cost of electronic book readers and the plastic used to create them, they can have a smaller eco-footprint than paper books. With an e-book reader, you can download books, newspapers and magazines from anywhere so you won’t have to drive to the bookstore to pick up the paper versions. To increase your green points, you can recycle your reader when you're done with it.

If you’re not sold on e-books, there are other ways to be a greener reader. Hopping on your bike and pedaling to the local library will reduce your personal transportation impact. Library books are a much more eco-friendly way than buying a book brand new since it avoids all the costs associated with publishing and transportation. Your local second-hand bookseller is also a good choice for finding reused goods, and websites like Kijiji let you trade your used items with other users and keep more trash out of landfills. Schools, nursing homes, gyms, or shelters may also accept donations of old magazines. Ask first though as there is concern with the spreading of germs.

Carbon offsetting can be used when there are no other green alternatives or along with other green alternatives. Reusing, donating, buying and donating used book and garage sales, freecycling and encouraging publishing companies to print on recycled paper can still be the first alternatives.

One Simple Acts

• Switch to iTunes: think of the plastic that won't be used for CD cases; the paper that won’t be used for the CD covers; and think of the CD's that won’t stack and take up space.
• At Tunes for Trees, for every 10 tracks you buy they plant a tree for free.
• Industrialized nations, which account for 20% of the world's population, consume 87% of the world's printing and writing paper. Try an e-book.

Minimize the environmental impact of your electronics by using it for as long as possible and recycling it at the end of its life.

Good Dog Owner or Bad Dog Owner?

Do you consider yourself a good dog guardian? Many of us, me and Mrs. Nate included, feel we are exceptional pet parents. We walk our dogs daily, we feed them quality food, and they get regular grooming and vet visits.

Well I found this little quiz on a blog called the Somerville Bark. I enjoyed its “tongue in cheek” approach but carries a very important message that we all need reminding of every once in a while.

Take the quiz and see where you score!

You brush your dog’s teeth once a:
a) Day
b) Week
c) Millennium

You walk your dog on a:
a) Leash
b) Long piece of string
c) Telepathic plane

You bathe your dog when your:
a) Car smells doggy
b) House smells doggy
c) Neighborhood smells doggy

You clean up after your dog:
a) Always
b) When someone is looking
c) When Environment Canada cites you for having an illegal landfill

When your dog is gassy in the middle of your dinner party, you:
a) Quickly light the candles for “ambiance”
b) Sternly order your dog from the room
c) Secretively point to the person to your left and mouth “woo-eee!”

Your dog comes home with orange fur in his mouth right around the time your next-door neighbor’s cat, who is often in your backyard, is missing. You:
a) Bury the fur and rehearse your alibi
b) Apologize to Mrs. Murphy and never let Fido outdoors again
c) Trade your dog in for a cat

When the neighbors in Copperfield complain that your dog’s barking can be heard all the way to Tuscany, you:
a) Invest in “Dog Training for Dummies”
b) Tell them to invest in soundproof windows
c) Trade your dog in for a Basenji

Your black suit is covered in white fur again. You:
a) Decide to trade in basic black for winter white
b) Carry lint brushes with you everywhere and even use them on your dog
c) Trade your dog in for a Mexican hairless

When your pound of chocolate box is suddenly empty and wrappers are strewn in a path to Fido’s bed, you:
a) Follow the plan you have neatly typed out and hanging on the fridge for such emergencies
b) Panic and call your mother
c) Punish Fido — those were your favorite kind of truffles

When your dog gets a little too intimate with the chow at the Southland Off-leash Park, you:
a) Say, “Those rascals,” and walk with dignity to the car
b) Say, “That’s amore,” and look on
c) Don’t notice because you’re on your cell phone

If you answered “a” to most of these, you can pat yourself on the back — you live in a very strange, dog-centric world but try to be considerate of others.

If you answered mostly “b,” this is probably your first dog and with time you’ll come around.

If you answered “c,” you should own a ferret. Owning a dog means more than just picking up after them (and some dog parents even fail at that, so call Poooh Busters).

Luckily, Calgary for the most part is on top of it — but as we all know, there are no bad dogs, just bad guardians.

A Sad Day For The Husky's

I’m sure most of you have heard of the senseless and inhumane slaughter of the 100 dog sledding Huskys in Whistler, BC.

Outrage and sadness are my initial emotions after reading the news story and watching the coverage on the CBC news website.

After the initial emotions subside and I get a chance to think about it, I start to analyze why this happened, how it could have been handled differently and what could have been done to prevent it in the first place.

After a round of emails with Mrs. Big Nate and our friend Melaina a few things were brought to light. Firstly, some folks might have thought a mass adoption of these dogs would have been the answer. Melaina immediately squashed this idea knowing full well that these particular dogs were not in an adoptable state. They never would be. They weren’t raised in an environment of domestication and would have only posed a harmful threat to the humans who may have adopted them.

So the only answer in this case is to euthanize them. I say euthanize, not slaughter. It could have been done humanly under a vet’s care and supervision. Unfortunately, that costs a whole lot more than a few bullets and a sharp knife. It’s sad to know that the owner(s) of the company that used these dogs for their own financial gain couldn’t at least return the favour of a humane death. After all they wouldn’t have made the money they did without the dogs in the first place!

Secondly, if we as humans would just stop giving these businesses our money, they might go away! It just reminds me of the dolphins. I remember going to Mexico and seeing the “Swim with The Dolphins” attraction. I thought to myself, I didn’t know there were dolphins in Mexico. Then I went to the Dominican Republic and once more saw a similar attraction and again in Jamaica. Turns out most of these dolphins are caught by Japanese fisherman and shipped off all around the world for our entertainment. Wonder what happens to the dolphins that aren’t needed in these cases?

If you want to know more about this subject, watch a movie called “The Cove”. Be prepared for outrage and tears.

The Huskys dog sledding attraction in Whistler, BC is just another example of outright animal exploitation and cruelty. This time it’s sadly right here in our own country.

So let’s end the cycle! Stop buying puppies from a pet store, stop going to the circus, stop paying for pictures with an iguana or parrot. We as consumers and patrons have a huge responsibility to stop supporting businesses that take part in this shameful exploitation of animals and toss them away like so much garbage once they are no longer required.