It’s not easy being green, a famous television frog once said.

Tell that to the growing number of pet lovers who are channeling their inner Al Gore by going to work, or in some cases, starting businesses of their own, in the “green” pet market.

That’s exactly what happened to Jacob D’Aniello, owner of DoodyCalls, a Charlottesville, Va.-based pet waste removal service. “I used to be a technology consultant but that wasn’t who I was or what I wanted to do,” he said. “I really wanted to work with animals and be outside. And I always had a strong entrepreneurial spirit.”

One day, D’Aniello and his future wife, Susan, decided to launch a part-time pet waste removal business. Soon, his lime-green truck became a familiar sight to suburban Virginians, and before he knew it, his weekend moonlighting operation became a full-fledged, full-time business. “We knew we were on to something, pretty much right away,” he said. “Forty percent of Americans have dogs, so I figured 40 percent of Americans were doing something they didn’t want to do. And that’s where DoodyCalls came in.”

For about $15 per week, D’Aniello will drive up to a house, “scoop the poop” as he says, and stick it in a bag. He leaves it in the customer’s garbage – all in an eco-friendly fashion.

“Being eco-conscious is very important to us,” he said. “We purchase carbon offset for our fleet of trucks, buy recycled paper, avoid bottled water at the office – things like that. But the business itself is truly green – just keeping dog poop out of the water supply makes the earth a cleaner place.”

Promoting quality of life

For Kylee Lejeune, co-founder of Canine Earth, a Baton Rouge, La.-based organic personal pet care service, running a green pet care business isn’t a luxury – it’s a necessity.

“Being ‘green’ in the pet world simply means doing what you can to promote the quality of life for your pet while keeping the environment in mind as well,” she said. “It can be as simple as feeding your pet organic foods, bathing your pet with organic products, buying pet toys made from recycled materials...it’s a very simple concept that can make a world of a difference.”

Canine Earth is certainly practicing what Lejeune is preaching. All of Canine Earth organic pet products are hypoallergenic, which makes them even safer to use on pets. The company uses no petro chemicals and its products, Lejeune says, are naturally scented from certified organic essential oils and flavors. “All of our products are produced from eco-friendly manufacturing processes,” she said.

Can green translate into green?

That doesn’t mean green pet business owners have to sacrifice profits for eco-purity. “Sure, being green in the pet world can be profitable,” Lejeune said. “Products that were once found only in small specialty stores such as health food shops are now becoming very mainstream and popping up in larger stores in all areas of the U.S. Plus, the population is becoming more educated and aware of the little things they can do to make the environment a better place, and the demand for green products for humans and pets as well has increased greatly as a result.”

Just how realistic is a career in the green pet sector? “I think it’s very realistic, especially as society shows more interest in green living,” Lejeune said. “The advice I would give to anyone entering the industry is to educate yourself as much as possible on how to make the planet a better place to live, and most importantly, how to make the quality of life for pets as happy and healthy as possible.”

D’Aniello agrees. “The key to building a business, or getting a career in the green pet care industry, is to not cut corners and always keep your integrity. After that, just keep doing what you love doing. That’s every pet owner’s dream.”

Reviewed by Amy I. Attas, V.M.D.

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