Business stinks, but the work keeps piling up in yards across the state for entremanures.

• Author: Boykin, Sam
• Position: DOLLARS AND SCENTS - Occupation overview - Occupation overview

David Mann jokes that the 10 years he spent in Hollywood as an assistant editor on Lethal Weapon 2 and other movies prepared him for his current career. But instead of taking crap from showbiz egomaniacs, he handles the real thing. He's a poop scooper for hire, scouring the backyards and common areas of the Triangle for dog droppings.

Mann, 47, and wife Galya, 36, opened DoodyCalls in Raleigh in October and had 30 clients by June. He scoops; she handles accounting and marketing. It's not exactly the career path he envisioned when he left Wilmington for L.A. in 1986, but he's sure that animal-waste removal can be fertile ground for go-getters who know their, um, stuff.

At $16 for a weekly visit--more for multiple dogs or more frequent visits--the Manns need many more customers to have a shot at getting stinking rich. "It's kind of risky because a lot of people aren't familiar with this kind of business," he says, "but it's catching on." Pet ownership is at an all-time high. The U.S. has more than 75 million pet dogs, the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association says. Each produces an average of 274 pounds of manure a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Many cities have laws regulating its disposal.

But it doesn't help that the economy is as soft as a Pomeranian's coat. When money is tight, people are more likely to let go their poop scooper than the landscaper or pool guy. And competition is at an all-time high--partly because you don't have to be flush to get started. If you've got a rake, a scoop and an easy way to get rid of the residue, you too can be your own boss and join the hundreds giving new meaning to gross income.

About 400 scooping services operate around the country, a figure that has more than doubled in five years, Matthew Osborn says. He runs Pooper-Scooper.com, an international directory of pet-waste removal services. Nine North Carolina companies are listed on his site, but there are several dozen throughout the state. With names like Scooperman, ScooperDude and Doodie Free Zone, it's clear the owners aren't a pretentious lot. They know theirs isn't a glamorous business, and that's part of the reason the Manns hope to prosper. "Somebody once told me that it's always good to own a business that does a job nobody else likes," he says. "And I don't know many people who enjoy scooping poop."

Jim Ingram, 51, is a big guy with a round belly and long white beard who looks a lot like Santa Claus. In fact, he plays St. Nick at Christmas time. Or as he puts it, "I don't play Santa. When I...