Published July 11, 2004
Doggy doo business part of interesting family's life
I started to crumple the flier without reading it after plucking it from the door, but stopped when I noticed the name of the outfit: Scoop da Poop.
Our yard doesn't need a "pet waste removal service," but I just had to call Veronika Pataki. I found she and her family are at least as interesting as her unusual new business. First, the scoop on Scoop da Poop: Picking up after pets — mainly dogs, some cats, but no geese — is a growing industry. There's even a national Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists (aPaws), which Veronica joined when starting her service two months ago.
Some other members' names are a hoot: Doody Dude, Doggy Doody Duty, Doody Calls, Pooper Troopers, Poop Masters, Poo Busters, We Do Doo Doo and Scooperman. (But, surprisingly, no Scoop Doggy Dogg.)
This is serious business, however. In addition to being a messy, smelly nuisance, pet poop can spread disease and parasites, pollute water, mar lawns and foul gardens. Adhering to aPaws guidelines, Veronika scrupulously disinfects her rake and the soles of her shoes before and after entering a yard. She plops the poop into plastic bags for disposal. She uses a special cleaning solution to remove stains from concrete, in case a pet deposits a pile on pavement. As Veronika meticulously prowls the back yard of client Steve Finn, she notes that while Finn's two shepherd-mix dogs are prodigious producers of poop, she prefers picking up the leavings of large dogs because "I can see it before I step in it."
Veronika's fee is based on the size of the yard, the number of dogs and the frequency of service. She can be reached by phone at 849-6931. Her informative Web site is at www.scoopdapoop.com.
But Scoop da Poop is only the latest Pataki business venture in Springfield. Veronika also cleans homes. And her husband, Csaba (pronounced CHUH-buh), is a carpenter and handyman. The Patakis, along with sons Mark, 10, and Balint, 8, arrived in Springfield from Hungary last September to visit Csaba's uncle Rudolf Banfi, who's lived here for a decade. "We came thinking we'd stay for two weeks," says Veronika. "But Springfield is beautiful and nice people are here. So we decided to stay longer." Although all the Patakis speak German as well as their native language, only Veronika, 30, spoke English when they got here. She studied English for four years while earning two degrees in business administration and acquiring extensive computer skills in Hungary. Veronika credits "the very good McGregor School and the excellent teachers there" for helping Mark and Balint learn a great deal of English in a short time. Meanwhile, Csaba has been working on the language through study tapes and by interacting with customers who have hired him for carpentry and odd jobs.
"When I first met Csaba we communicated by sign language and pointing a lot, but we have pretty good conversations now," says Elizabeth Ferguson of Republic, an early client of the Patakis who has since become a close friend of the family. It was Ferguson who suggested the Patakis look into the poop-scooping business after hearing about it from a nephew who runs a similar operation in Kansas City. "At first, I wasn't so sure," admits Veronika. "In Hungary, people don't treat dogs like family members the way people here do. In Hungary, dogs are always outside and are expected to bark when someone comes around.
"My kids were scared of dogs because the only dogs they'd seen weren't friendly. But then we saw that most dogs here were so mild, so kind. I haven't met an aggressive dog here. We love dogs now."
Scoop da Poop fits into the requirements of the Patakis' work visa, which requires they operate their own business. The visa must be renewed annually. The Patakis have invested many hours in paperwork and $1,650 in fees seeking to extend the current permit, which expires in September. Eventually, says Veronika, the family probably will return to eastern Europe. "But we'd like to stay here for a few years," she says. "We want our sons to learn about America and to learn English well. We think it will be very beneficial for them." Time here also benefits the family's bank account, if their ventures pan out. Veronika and Csaba had good jobs in Hungary — she as an executive assistant, he as a builder — in terms of social status. But pay was relatively poor.
"The same merchandise that you can buy here is for sale in Hungary, and the price is about the same," Veronika says. "But the salaries in Hungary are only about one-tenth what they are here. So it is very difficult to earn enough money to buy many things there." If the family is allowed to stay in this country for a while, and if their customer base continues to expand, Veronika says they would like to build a house. "We built our home in Hungary, and it was nice small, but nice." For now, the family lives in an apartment. Weekdays are filled with work and seeking new clients. "But on the weekends," says Veronika, "we always try to make a program for the kids. We took them to Oklahoma to see an Indian reservation. Sometimes we just ride bicycles together. But we always try to do some activity with the boys." Elizabeth Ferguson says that is the main reason she has become so fond of the Patakis: "They are such good, honest, decent, hard-working people — the kind of people you want to see succeed."
E-mail former News-Leader associate editor Mike O'Brien via obriencolumn@att.net.
