story by Robin Beaudoin Ownby | photos courtesy of Hannah Eans
Dog owners agree, backyard picnics and pool days are no picnic when invaded by flies or smelly waste. “My wife and I have three dogs, and when you get off work and you’ve worked all day, you want to enjoy your backyard space without the flies and snails. It’s just an added job to scoop the poop,” says Hannah Eans, co-owner of Doody Divas, a backyard pet waste removal company serving the Mid-South. Doody Divas is the brainchild of Eans and her wife Jeanie Jarrell, which started as a flexible work solution when Covid-19 left them without job security.
“We both do physical therapy, and when COVID-19 hit, my job completely shut down.
We had this service done by another local company, and there weren’t any (physical therapy) jobs available because nobody had brought back their staff,” Eans said. The couple wanted to do something flexible, outdoors, working for themselves. “That’s how it started. It’s been very flexible, and it’s something that eventually we can do together. At some point you want to be your own boss, and not do someone else’s job,” she said.
The clientele? “Our customers are all neighborhood clients with fenced backyards; the biggest customer we have has five HUGE dogs which is a big job. We have as little as one small two-month old puppy, but her dad wants a yard so perfect for her, he has us twice a week,” Eans said. “It can take us between five and 10 minutes, or 30 minutes. It’s mainly working-class people who just don’t want that added job once they get home.
“Pricing for cleanup depends on the number of dogs and number of visits to the home. Prices begin at $12 for once a week for a single dog. When we used to hire the job out, we said it was the best $105 we paid a month. It’s a job that people don’t want to do, and they will pay someone to do it for them.”
Details such as coded gates or dogs in the yard can be easily addressed with the owners. “I like when the friendly dogs are outside,” Eans said. “They follow us around and we can pick up their poop as they go!
“We love the Memphis area. Jeanie grew up here, and I moved here from Arkansas just a few years ago. This is a service that we can provide to people that hopefully they will love to have.
Find Doody Divas on Instagram and Facebook and the NextDoor app.
The Divas serve Wynne and Marion, Ark. as well as Memphis. For info, email info@doodydivas.com or call (870) 588-7241 to book them.
