Carol Seivley, a retired school teacher, started the “Doody Dude” company to help pay for her health insurance. The business charges about 0 per yard, per week.

Editor’s note: Reporter Mark Boyle takes us behind the scenes of news stories in the area. This week, he catches up with a retired school teacher who helped start up a company performing a chore that virtually no one else enjoys doing: cleaning up after pets.

This week we chose to strip away some of the glamour from the media business and get to work with a family that started up Doody Dude, a company that cleans up after household pets.

Carol Seivley is a retired school teacher of 31 years and needed a way to help pay for her health insurance. She started up the company with her nephew, who lost his job around the holiday season.

“We wanted to start a business where we could be our own bosses and (have) virtually no competition,” said Seivley, co-owner of Doody Dude in Lawrence.

She scoops poop from the yards of Lawrence pet owners and has made a science out of her business as well. After she collects the waste, Seivley does something she says no one else does, but needs to.

“We’re going to spray the yard with a chemical, kill the bacteria and make it smell good,” said Seivley. “You have Clorox, Tide, Pledge, Windex. What do you have for your backyard?”

After the tough work is finished, Seivley disposes of the waste in a ditch on her farm. With a few additives, she is hoping to turn the pet waste into useable compost.

When Seivley leaves each and every job, the owner and dog get a nice parting gift — a clean yard plus a pet treat.

“We use a bag from the Journal-World, drop a dog biscuit in and leave them a note so they know we have been here,” said Seivley.

Doody Dude charges about $20 per yard, per week. To have Seivley clean up after your pet, contact her at 840-6599.