Call of Doody: First sergeant removes pet waste for living

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Steve Lewis
  • 512th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  (Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series featuring 512th Airlift Wing reservists with civilian jobs of the grubby kind.)

There are Air Force reservists who may not have the cleanest civilian jobs out there. In fact, some 512th Airlift Wing members make their money getting downright dirty.
The 709th Airlift Squadron first sergeant knows this duty all too well. In fact, when he's not helping the squadron's Airmen during a Unit Training Assembly, he earns his keep picking up doody. 

Master Sgt. Don Meyer is a professional pooper scooper. He's a franchise owner of DoodyCalls, a nationwide pet waste removal service. Homeowners and commercial properties can schedule service for a particular day; and, for roughly $10 to $15, pet waste will be removed and disposed of. Sergeant Meyer even leaves a bag of dog treats after every cleaning, which guarantees grateful pets will leave something for him to come back to. 

For people who have disabilities and busy schedules, Sergeant Meyer said his business is necessary. 

"I do what dog owners don't really want to do, which is clean up after their pets," said Sergeant Meyer. 

After picking up his 11 and 8-year-old daughters, Leah and Elle, Sergeant Meyer pulls up to his first house of the day in the early morning. He drives a lime green and orange pickup truck with the DoodyCalls logo on it. Outfitted with a dark green polo shirt, shorts and an eager smile, Sergeant Meyer dismounts from the truck and issues his daughters their equipment. With plastic rakes and scoopers in their hands, the family begins a grid-like sweep of the yard, looking for what Sergeant Meyers calls, "golden nuggets." 

"One of the most fulfilling things about my job is spending quality time with my daughters," said Sergeant Meyer, who left a previous position managing a railroad maintenance crew in Pennsylvania. 

He said, he spent 95 percent of the time traveling, and he barely got to see his family. Now, with the flexible schedule and his daughters helping out, Sergeant Meyer said he's glad to be a franchise owner. 

"You just can't do that with a regular job," he said. 

Sergeant Meyer became interested in DoodyCalls after reading about them in the newspaper and in an e-mail advertisement. Initially, he said he was drawn to the DoodyCalls name because of its military overtone. But, growing up on a Nebraska farm and being raised around animals for most of his childhood, he said it was only natural for him to look more into the DoodyCalls franchise. 

After speaking with them on the phone, Sergeant Meyer then traveled to a DoodyCalls office in Fairfax, Va, where he learned more about the company and met a few franchise partners. Soon after, he was able to join the DoodyCalls team and returned to Virginia for training. 

"They thought I was a good fit," said Sergeant Meyer. 

With a few more houses to go before lunch, Sergeant Meyer pulls up to a driveway in Townsend, Del., for another scooping. This time, the family is greeted by a curious dachshund named Max and his owner, Dawn Moffitt. Max has a reason to be happy this morning, he's about to get dog treats from his own personal scooper. 

After finishing the yard and disinfecting his equipment, Sergeant Meyer hands Ms. Moffitt a report of the cleaning, schedules his return and scratches Max's head. 

"Before, I had another business clean up the yard, but I was unhappy with their service," said Ms. Moffitt, who was one of Sergeant Meyer's first customers. 

She said Sergeant Meyer's service is necessary due to a physical disability that prohibits her from cleaning up after Max. 

"Don's a lifesaver," she said. 

So far, Sergeant Meyer is responsible for 38 different customers, one of which is a commercial property. He normally cleans about six to eight houses per day. 

"If there's not much poop, the day flies by," said Sergeant Meyer when describing his hours. Most days, he's finished scooping by noon in order to tackle administrative duties at his pooper scooper headquarters in Townsend. 

Just recently, he hired a second route driver to help with his schedule. With four lime green trucks in his fleet, Sergeant Meyer said his business is quickly expanding. He currently covers Delaware, parts of Maryland, and he just recently began offering service in Pennsylvania. 

"I eventually want to add more territories and expand my customer base," said Sergeant Meyer. Besides bringing his weekly customers to over 50 a week, he said his plans also include bringing his business into regions just outside Philadelphia city limits. 

When asked how business is going now, Lt. Col. Todd McCubbin, 709th Airlift Squadron commander, said Sergeant Meyer's standard response to everyone in the squadron is that DoodyCalls is "always picking up.'' 

"Sergeant Meyer is an excellent first sergeant," said Colonel McCubbin. "He's a self starter and very motivated, which are two perfect traits for running his own franchise," he said. 

It's now getting close to lunch. Leia, Elle and Sergeant Meyer have just finished their last stop of the day, the Persimmon Creek townhouse community, his sole commercial account. He not only cleans up designated dog walking areas in this neighborhood, Sergeant Meyer also manages the waste container units called Gladiators, stationed throughout the development. 

After replacing bags in all of the Gladiators, Sergeant Meyer and his daughters pack up their gear and hop into the truck. Since their mission is complete, their next destination is a local restaurant for lunch. 

Sergeant Meyer said he plans to pass his franchise off to his daughters when they get older. 

"I've been teaching them about integrity and business principles," he said, which will be helpful in the future should they decide to take the franchise over. 

But, until the time comes for his daughters to take the rakes, this pooper scooper will continue to serve up convenience to his customers. After all, it's a dirty job and Sergeant Meyer is ready for duty. Or, in this case, ready for doody.