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Date published: 4/19/2007

By ANDREA CHRISTIE

Last year, Jim Miles did not know just how smelly his job was about to get.

In late February, Miles, of Remington, opened his own company, called Mutt Mounds Dog Waste Removal Service. The company serves customers within a 30-mile radius of Remington, such as Fredericksburg and Stafford and Culpeper counties.

"I didn't want to work for someone for the rest of my life, so I started doing research, looking into a career working with animals," Miles said. "I saw a growing need and nobody in our area providing the service."

While there are hundreds of pet-waste-removal companies across the United States, there are fewer than 10 in Virginia and none in the area, until Mutt Mounds.

After a few months of research and some good advice from Matthew Osborn's book "The Professional Pooper-Scooper: How to Start Your Own Low-Cost, High-Profit Dog Waste Removal Service," Miles started his business, which consists of him and his wife, Elaine.

Miles, who was previously a fire alarm technician at Wal-Mart for 12 years, said that while he is confident about his business, leaving the security of his full-time job was a scary step.

In the two months since he opened the business, however, Miles said, working for himself has been a stress reliever.

"I get to be my own boss, work outside, meet people and dogs, which I love," Miles said. "I'm helping people do things that they can't do themselves, they might not be physically able to do."

According to Miles, business has been great so far, with a new customer every other day, if not every day.

Mutt Mounds offers waste removal services either for a one-time fee or on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis. Depending on the size of your yard and number of dogs, prices vary.

According to the company's Web site: "There are no contracts to sign. You can start your service with just an e-mail or phone call, and you can cancel at any time."

Mutt Mounds is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit Mutt Mounds.com.

Read more stories about Fredericksburg
Date published: 4/19/2007

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