Not all jobs are glamorous. That doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. Marquis Pounds, founder and owner of “Pierce County’s Most Heroic Dog Poop Company” knows what we mean. You’re already laughing, right? How great is that? The mission: to give their clients peace of mind by providing residential, commercial, and special event dog waste removal. In other words, the Dooky Squad (yes, that’s the name) will pick up the poo instead of you. Right on! 

 

One day, Marquis was sitting in the backyard, ruminating. His last child of four had graduated high school.  Now who was going to clean up the dog poo? “They always had the dog poo duty,” he shared. “Now what was I going to do?  I wondered if you could pay someone.”  Turns out, yes, you can, and – bonus – you can make some decent money with it. “So I dove right in,” he said. 

 

(Into the job, fair neighbors, not the poo). 

 

Marquis has been running the Dooky Squad now for almost half a year. “I had retired the year prior and had lots of time to research and ponder what I wanted to do with the rest of my life,” he said. Marquis is a Navy submarine veteran and a retired firefighter. He’s used to stepping in where others might fear to go. “After my retirement, I had time and money,” Marquis continued. “I knew I didn't want another job working for someone else. When I stumbled upon and researched this area, I recognized an opportunity. I went for it.” Marquis modelled Dooky Squad off of another business in the field that has had great success in Washington state. “After blasting out the gate, I have been fine tuning operations and putting together a team of amazing people to whom I owe my success,” he said. 

 

And, they’re having fun with it. “For our logo, we turned our dog into a superhero named Dook.  We are expanding on the Dooky Squad universe into a street clothing line and future children's and comic books.” If you check out some of their brand imaging, you will see the recurrent theme of the superhero with the flying cape. And seriously, aren’t they, though? Dooky Squad does a task that even dedicated dog owners sometimes find, to say the least, uninviting. According to Marquis, it’s their professional pleasure to take over the task and give the rest of us “the time to do things that are important in life.”  

 

For residential clients, Dooky Squad provides a subscription-based cleanup program of the client’s choosing. Commercial clients include homeowners’ associations, real estate and property management individuals and companies, and Airbnbs. They also will show up for special event cleanups such as surrounding a wedding or birthday party. The burden is off your shoulders. Let Dooky Squad handle that pre- or post-party cleanup and enjoy the companionship of your canine friends. “At Dooky Squad, we make it easy for homeowners to enjoy a clean, safe, and odor-free yard with our expert dog poop service near you,” says their website (www.dookysquad.com) where you will find amusing images of Marquis charging to the rescue, Superman style. 

 

The Dooky Squad also provides yard deodorizing and in the case of apartment complexes and the like, installation and maintenance of dog poo bin collectors. They serve Pierce, Kitsap, Thurston, Mason, and Eastern Jefferson counties. “Our professional team takes the hassle out of pet waste removal, leaving your outdoor space pristine for you and your pets. Say goodbye to scooping and hello to a healthier lawn!” 

 

While the aesthetic component to Dooky Squad’s service is probably the most appealing for most of us, there are bigger reasons to make sure you (or they) clean up that poo. “Dog waste poses significant environmental risks when not properly managed, primarily impacting water quality and potentially affecting human and animal health,” Marquis explained. “It acts as a source of harmful bacteria and excessive nutrients that can contaminate waterways.” As the companion to their cleanup service, the deodorizer treatment uses natural enzymes and citronella oil that neutralizes odors. Altogether, this combination helps reduce the detrimental effects. 

 

Marquis was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. “I'm a city kid that was surrounded with mountains and the coast.” To him, life in the Pacific Northwest is the “best of both worlds.” Marquis and his wife – who he described as “my rockstar!” – love to travel and expand their world. They have four children who no longer pick up the poo, at least not at Mom and Dad’s house: Preston (25), Ronan (21), Jackson (21), and Marina (19). Preston is working on becoming a registered nurse and is working in the medical field. Ronan is a paraeducator with Clover Park School District and is working on his teaching degree. Jackson is pursuing a career as a first responder. Heather has a long history of being a paramedic and emergency room nurse and is now a Nurse Practitioner on St. Joe's trauma team.  

 

For this proud family man and community hero, after he’s finished scouring the neighborhoods for dooky, keeping fit and spending time with the family is what brings him peace. Right now, with the business just taking off, he’s spending a lot of time learning how to run things. He’s also learning about finance and crypto. “Every day is an education and I'm having a blast doing it!”