We've got this one in the bag!

As many of you may know, we have a total of five dogs. Broose and Paige are our outside dogs and Murphy, Lillie, and Jack are our inside dogs (pugs). we have done pretty well with potty training the pugs and they know that when they go outside, that is the time to go potty. winter is rough when it comes to cleaning the feces from the back yard because the snow is often over a foot deep and trudging through the snow can be difficult to collect the poop.


The snow has melted and it is time to do some serious early Spring cleaning of the back yard. I got the chain saw and the shredder and I am ready to clean up the mess that the trees have left. As I move about the yard I realize that our dogs have left us a number of land mines. I started picking up the piles and disposing of them but all of this bending over is rough on my back. Suddenly, it dawned on me! When I was young I loved helping out my neighbors to earn a little extra cash. I should hire a kid to pick up poop and I will pay him/her at a per bag/bucket rate.


I posted a listing under the jobs section on Craigslist for the position which I was offering. I explained in the ad that I was just looking for someone to come by once a week to pick up dog poop. I explained that I would provide a disposal location and that this person would only be working for one to two hours a week.


I got a lot of people sending me messages that were supposedly interested in the position. I then emailed all of these young people back explaining in more detail exactly what I was looking for.
This blog entry relates specifically to one email I got from a 16 year old boy that was interested in the task.


This boy stated in the email he sent me that he would be more interested in an hourly rate than a per bag/bucket rate. I could understand his reasoning and continued to read the message. Everything sounded good so I emailed this young man back asking what his hourly wage expectations were and when he could start.


The following day I received an email back from him. I was excited because I really wanted to start the process of getting the poop cleaned up. I will quote, leaving out his name for privacy reasons, what he said in his reply:
"Hey Andy, I am so glad that you got back to me about cleaning up dog mess in your yard. You wanted to know what I would charge hourly for the said given task so I would like to start at $30.00 an hour and once you see the work I can do in 4-5 hours we can discuss how much extra you want to pay. I look forward to starting."


I just about fell out of my seat! $30.00/hour then discuss paying more?!?!? You have got to be kidding me! I have had some pretty crappy jobs over the years. Don't get me wrong, I think picking up dog poo is a really crappy job. I have never made anywhere close to $30/hour for any of my crappy jobs!


I had to email this young man back and explain to him that I had decided to go a different route with my yard clean-up task. I thanked him for his interest.


I pondered over this kid's  wage requirements for several days. $30 x 8 hours= $240 x 5 days a week = $1200/week. 4 weeks in a month = $4800/month x 12 months each year = $57,600 per year.


If there are people out there that are making almost $60,000 a year picking up dog poo, maybe I need to reconsider my college education and just deal with having a sore back.


Lindsey and I are now saving ourselves a very decent living wage by spending a few minutes each day picking up fresh piles that the dogs leave us!