Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: blessings, family, God, military, pastors, pets, Thanksgiving
As we pause to remember all that we’re thankful for this year, I want to take a moment to say thanks to all of our loyal customers. Without you, we wouldn’t be able to fulfill our mission of helping you to take care of your family and pets. Thank you!
Some other things I am thankful for this year are:
- My beautiful wife and partner, who believes in, supports, and encourages me through challenging times. I am truly blessed by God to be loved by you. Thank you, Baby, I love you!
- I am thankful for my son, who lights up my day with his smile and brings great joy to my life.
- I am thankful for my pastors, who preach the uncompromising word of God. Thank you for not being afraid to preach the truth.
- I am thankful for our military, whose loyalty, duty, and selfless-service provides a safe place of freedom and liberty for us all to live. We salute you.
- I am thankful to my God, who supplies all my needs according to his riches in Glory. He has provided us with a place to live, a car to drive, a job to build wealth to share in His kingdom, an uplifting family of believers, and so many other blessings too numerous to mention. The greatest blessing of all is the gift of Jesus, by whose stripes I am healed and by whose sacrifice I am saved and made whole. Thank you, Lord, for my salvation.
I pray that each of you will take the time to count all of your blessings one by one. In so doing, I pray that you will come to appreciate all that God has given you. As humans, we can only achieve so much on our own; but with God we can do all things because everything is possible with Him. So this Thanksgiving, love God, love your family, and love your neighbor. Then, you will truly know what it means to pursue life and live better now. I call you blessed.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Filed under: Business News
Over the last four months, our business has undergone some drastic changes. Some were temporary and others permanent, but our mission is still to help the working family take care of their pets.
In May, my wife and me were blessed with the birth of our firstborn son, Josiah. In the weeks leading up to his birth, we put out a notice to our pet sitting clients that we would be suspending the service for maternity leave – after all my wife was the primary pet sitter for our company and after giving birth to our son she would need time to recover. So we discontinued pet sitting for 8 weeks.
Just as the summer was beginning to wind down, we decided to start looking at houses. With the possibility of buying a house, we realized that our current income would not allow us to achieve that dream of becoming a homeowner. Therefore, we discussed it in detail and decided that it would be in the best interest for our family for my wife to start working a part-time job. I already work full-time, but that wasn’t going to be enough to make ends meet if we purchased a new home. At that time, Jeannie started looking for a job and we had to make another decision that would ultimately affect our pet sitting clients: without a pet sitter, we were forced to discontinue our pet sitting service indefinitely.
This was not an easy decision to make but without a pet sitter, we had no other choice. With pet sitting out, we have refocused our efforts on growing the dog waste removal service business. I still clean yards on Saturdays, except when my brother-in-law is kind enough to do it for me.
We have big plans to grow the business into the surrounding areas in the next 5 years. I would like to see our service take care of pet owners in Nelson, Larue, Meade, and Bullitt counties. As we approach our fifth year anniversary, we are excited to implement a plan to make that happen.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: dog walking, dog waste removal, economy, gas prices, inflation, pet sitting, ReALife LLC
At ReALife LLC, we follow a cost-plus pricing strategy that helps us to keep our retail prices competitively low. Due to economic pressure from rising gas prices, our costs have increased resulting in the need to raise prices. The new rates for dog waste removal, pet sitting, and dog walking are available on our website and are effective immediately.
By Jeannie Smith
On December 18, 2010, my husband and I started pet sitting for two clients. One client just informed us that one of their dogs gave birth to puppies before they left for vacation. The dog had nine puppies. My husband wasn’t all that concerned because he has taken care of newborn puppies before. As for me, I was like “Oh my!” a little nervous. I had never done that before so Jason explained to me what would happen since I was responsible for watching the puppies more so than him.
My husband was right. It wasn’t hard at all because the momma took care of her pups. All I had to do was make sure she had her food and plenty of water to drink and to let her out at each visit so she could do her business. It was an amazing experience I will never forget. To see the puppies grow and develop from the beginning of our first visit to the last visit on January 2, 2011.
To this day, I picture how big the puppies are getting and how active they are becoming everyday.
The other client had three dogs. Two of the dogs were loving – the little dog liked to bark but not come love on you. Later in the week, I was sitting on the couch loving on the two big dogs during one of my visits. The next thing I know, the small dog came up to me and let me pet him. He warmed up to me after a few visits and that meant a lot to me because he normally doesn’t do that.
I love pet sitting for people because their animals become part of your life as well. As you learn to take care of them the way their owners do, they feel like they’re yours too. I always look forward to going back because I have adopted them as my own.
Filed under: Community News | Tags: amniotic fluid, birth defects, Cardinal Health, clotting disorder, community service, complications, dog walking, dog waste removal, education, healthy babies, infant mortality, infection, Jason Smith, Jeannie Smith, ky, labor, Labor and Delivery, March for Babies, March of Dimes, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, NICU, OH, pet sitting, pregnancy, pregnancy loss, pregnant, premature birth, radcliff, ReALife LLC, research, silent crisis, Toledo, Toledo Hospital
This Saturday, ReALife LLC will be participating in a yard sale that will take place in front of Cardinal Health in Radcliff, KY. ReALife LLC owners Jason and Jeannie Smith will be on-site distributing information about their company’s dog waste removal, pet sitting, and dog walking services. The public will be allowed to register for services at this time as well as enter into a drawing for various prizes.
“The reason for this event is to raise financial support for the March of Dimes,” Jason said, “In keeping with the spirit behind this event; we will be donating 10% of our sales from this event to support a friend of mine who is highly involved with the March of Dimes.” For privacy reasons, Jason’s friend has asked to omit her family’s last name from this article.
Julie, a high school friend of Jason’s who resides in Toledo, Ohio, is an active participant in the March of Dimes. Julie is the mother of 2-year old Ethan who was born 10 weeks premature.
For Julie, everything was going normal in her pregnancy until she reached 26 weeks. At that time, she experienced complications when she found herself in a puddle of blood. Her husband Matt rushed her to the doctor, where she was promptly admitted to Labor and Delivery at Toledo Hospital. Fortunately, the baby showed no signs of distress and Julie’s bleeding stopped completely after about an hour. After a few days in the hospital, the doctor discharged her with instructions to limit the amount of time on her feet and to cut back on heavy housework.
On June 3, 2008, Julie began having contractions which sent her back to Labor and Delivery. A few hours after being admitted, she began leaking amniotic fluid. This is a great concern because leaks may cause infection to the mother or the baby. The doctors planned to keep Julie pregnant until 34 weeks as long as her water didn’t break.
Around 5:30 p.m. that evening, her water broke and the doctors were left with no other choice than to allow labor to progress. At 10:02 p.m. Ethan, at 3 lbs. 9 oz. and 16.5 inches long, was born. Within an hour of his birth, the medical staff rushed Ethan to Toledo Hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where he spent the first 52 days of his life. Julie admits that this was one of the most difficult circumstances she and her husband ever had to endure.
Ethan in his isolette
“We were not allowed to touch him without first sanitizing our hands,” Julie said. “We were only allowed two visitors at a time in his room, and while he was in an isolette, we were only allowed to hold him for a half-hour at a time twice a day.”
A couple weeks following his birth, Ethan experienced a massive apnea attack that scared the new parents.
“His heart rate dropped to the 40’s and his oxygen levels dropped to 17,” Julie said. She described that in a matter of seconds she had him removed from his isolette. “I had him face down while vigorously rubbing his back. His stats returned to normal almost instantly.”
Ethan, 2 years old at the Toledo Zoo on a Tiger Sculpture
Today, Ethan is a normal, happy, healthy two-year old. Fortunately, for the Julie and Matt, Ethan survived his premature birth. For some, the story does not always have a happy ending. That is where the March of Dimes comes in.
The March of Dimes was born after Franklin D. Roosevelt became a victim of polio in the summer of 1921. After defeating polio through its life-saving research, The March of Dimes shifted their mission to saving babies from silent crisis or premature birth, according to marchofdimes.com.
Marchofdimes.com states, “Our mission is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.” The March of Dimes accomplishes its mission through research, community services, education, and advocacy to save babies’ lives. Researchers, volunteers, educators, outreach workers, and advocates work together through the March of Dimes to give all babies a fighting chance against the threats to their health: prematurity, birth defects, and low birth weight.
Shortly after Julie and Matt returned home, their doctor ordered blood work to ascertain the cause of her pregnancy complications. The results of the blood work indicate that Julie has a clotting disorder. As a result of this disorder, Julie and Matt faced two tragedies in 2010, when they lost two babies at a gestation of 5 weeks each.
“I lost my second baby on April 1 and my third baby on June 15,” Julie said. “I am currently on an aspirin regimen as a pre-conceptive to help prevent another pregnancy loss.”
Last year, Julie organized a team to walk in The March for Babies. Her team managed to raise $400 for The March of Dimes.
“This year, I will be walking again,” Julie states. “I will walk for my son who was born prematurely, for my two angels I lost, for the babies currently fighting to survive in the NICU, and for the babies who lost their fight.”
“It is truly an honor and a privilege to be able to share Julie’s story with my community,” Jason said. “We look forward to being able to contribute to her cause at the conclusion of this event.”
People can help support the cause of the March of Dimes by donating funds, participating, volunteering, or by becoming a partner.
For more information on the March of Dimes, visit www.marchofdimes.com.
Story and pictures used by permission.
Filed under: Business News
As we introduce dog walking to Elizabethtown, KY this September, we wanted to let interested consumers know that if you prebook your dog walking service by August 31, 2010, we will give you a 10% discount on service for the first 5 months. Visit http://www.kypooperscooper.com/dogwalking.html to register.
Filed under: Business News | Tags: business, Cardinal Health, customer service, dog walking, dog walking service, dog waste removal, dog waste removal service, pet sitting
This fall, I am pleased to announce the return of two of our most popular services, pet sitting and dog walking.
Last fall, when I accepted a position at Cardinal Health as a Customer Service Representative, I had to make some adjustments to my business model by temporarily discontinuing the pet sitting and dog walking service. Since 2007, I had been fully operating both the dog waste removal service and pet sitting service. In 2009, the dog walking service was in its pilot stage. Unfortunately, due to the limited resources of one vehicle and little time, as I am working a full-time job, and my wife also working part-time, to continue offering the pet sitting and dog walking service was not a feasible option. Therefore, we decided to temporarily discontinue those services.
This September, my wife will be leaving the workforce which opens up an opportunity to bring back both services. We look forward to bringing these services back to the community because we know how much it means to families.
Filed under: Business News | Tags: business, Cardinal Health, education, football, Fort Knox, marketing class, small business, soccer, Sullivan University, tag, volleyball
As a small business owner, I have taken the initiative to pursue an education in business. Prior to starting my business in 2007, I had no designated educational objective and starting the business actually prompted me to learn more about business. After all, anything worth doing is worth doing well. So I began a rigorous course of attending night classes at Sullivan University at Fort Knox. In 2009, I successfully completed my Associate of Science Degree in Business Administrative Office Management. As a result of my new found skills, I decided to put my education to work by getting a full time job at Cardinal Health. Although I have a full-time office job, I still take pride in doing my business part-time.
Currently, I am taking a marketing class and the class has inspired me to take a new look at what my business is all about. Originally, in 2007, I created a catchy tag-line for my business: “Too Pooped to Scoop? We do the dirty work so you don’t have to!” But having revisited what my business really does for my customers, I have decided to abandon the old and bring in a fresh new perspective on doing business as a professional pooper-scooper. The new focus is encompassed in the following phrase: “Pursue Life. Live Better. Now.”
I realized that the old tag-line implied that “If you don’t feel like picking up dog crap, pay us to do the dirty work for you.” Of course, that is not what we think of our customers and we decided a new direction was necessary. Our customers are made up of different kinds of people. We serve retired military, the elderly, young business owners, and active duty military. Each of these groups of people have unique and special needs, but one thing we all need is more time. We’re all looking for more time to do things that are important to us. And one of the chief benefits our customers get is more time.
Think about this: The time you spend cleaning up dog waste, is time that could be spent pursuing your hopes and dreams. We want our customers to know that no matter what their passion in life, our service will help to give them more time to pursue life.
It’s no secret that dog waste can carry various diseases and organisms, some of which can be transmitted from animal to man. You may be familiar with roundworm, hookworm, tapeworm, or Giardia, to name a few. These disease-causing organisms can be shed in the stool of infected animals; this is precisely why dog waste cannot be used as a fertilizer for your garden. Furthermore, the organisms can enter the ground water when it rains. No matter how you look at it, dog waste in general is not safe or healthy to have in a yard where your pets and children play. Our service helps you to live better by removing the source of potential disease.
Finally, we made a decision that some of those life pursuits and passions involve enjoying your yard in a recreational manner. Whether its playing tag, football, soccer, volleyball, or simply stepping out on the back porch or patio to enjoy the fresh air, we felt that it would be important to make that need more readily accessible by cleaning yards earlier so that you can enjoy all those benefits now.
Dirty work? Done. Pursue Life. Live Better. Now.
Filed under: Business News | Tags: back to school, Buy 1 Get 1, dog waste removal service, free, half-price, lock in low rate, PetCorps, ReALife LLC, save 50%, summer, summer sale
Well, the middle of summer is upon us, and in a month or so it will be back to school time. Now until the end of July, ReALife LLC is a launching a Buy 1 Get 1 sale.
When you buy one month of dog waste removal service in July, we’ll give you a second month of service FREE, saving you 50% on the cost of month-to-month service.
Want to lock in that low rate? Sign up for a 3-month or 6-month contract to lock in the low sales rate, and pay just half the regular monthly rate per month for the duration of your contract.
For details, contact petcorps@kypooperscooper.com.
This past Saturday, my wife Jeannie decided that she would accompany me while out cleaning yards. This made for an interesting and fun-filled work day. Although she didn’t get to clean many yards, the ones she did help me with she did a good job. I will admit she was a little hesitant to get started in her first yard, and not for the reasons that most people would think. Her chief concern was that she was afraid she wouldn’t do such a good job. I can honestly say that I know how she feels.
Three years ago when I started this business, I was nervous, too, that I wouldn’t do a good job. My aim was to clean up 100% of the dog waste in people’s yards, and when I would discover droppings that I missed on my first and second passes through a yard, I felt terrible. I’d think, “How in the world did I miss that?”
Well, after three years, I am confident that the level of service I provide is 99.7-100%.
Jeannie said she enjoyed spending the day with me and even though she self-proclaimed that she is “fired” from poop-scooping, she said there is a possibility that she may return with me to do more fieldwork in the future.
